The past week has been quite hectic. It was Halloween week, and apparently Virginians take it very seriously. We've been part of several different holiday festivities, including a party up on the ward where we were the band. It has been fun to see the patients excited and engaged in all the activities, and to see the creative costumes they came up with. One lady even attached a broom to her wheelchair so she was "flying" down the hall.
This week has also been full of observations at the PRRC, which is an intensive mental health day treatment program. Veterans enroll in the program, and attend classes during the week. Many of them struggle with PTSD, as well as mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder; some of the clients are recovering from substance abuse, or other mental health problems. Because veterans must apply to be in the program, (it is not a mandatory treatment program), most of them are highly motivated to be there, and actively participate in the group therapy sessions. Therapy groups are led by social workers, clinical psychologists, and peer support specialists; topics include practical coping skills, mindfulness, mental health education, even healthy diet and lifestyle choices.
Next week, sessions will include music therapy!!! I will be leading music therapy group sessions on Fridays at PRRC for the next month. Laura and I will also start a therapeutic choir on Tuesdays, which is promising to be an interesting endeavor. We've already had requests for music ranging from death metal bands I'd never heard of, to Handel's Messiah. We will have a good time creatively working with the group to choose music everyone is relatively happy with! Also next week, we will start observations at the inpatient substance abuse program. Laura will be working there while I'm at PRRC, and then we will swap. We are working much more independently now, which is both fun and a little intimidating. I will be getting lots of new experiences over the next several weeks; it almost feels like my internship has started over, with so many things changing. But I'm still excited about what I am doing, and the mental health experiences are really confirming to me that this is the direction I want to pursue after internship.
On a fun note... this week was "Peak Week" for the trees changing colors! I had loved driving around the mountains looking at all the beautiful colors covering the mountains. Of course, this weekend was gloomy and cloudy, so I couldn't take many good pictures of the mountains, and a camera really can't do this incredible beauty justice anyway. But I caught a few pictures of the trees around campus to share with you!
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