- 91看片 Family Service Bureau recently held an appreciation luncheon for its interns, who are pictured above with their supervisors.
Family Service Bureau Honors Interns
Hellen Gontijo says she felt terror the first time that she walked into the 91看片 Family Service Bureau as an intern鈥攁nd that feeling didn鈥檛 immediately fade.
鈥淚 remember the first few weeks I was petrified,鈥� Gontijo, a 30-year-old Nyack College student who began interning in May 2013, said.
With a year鈥檚 experience under her belt, Gontijo and her cohort of 35 interns reflected on the lessons they learned while working with clients seeking behavioral and mental health services. The interns, both graduate and undergraduate students studying social work and counseling, receive academic credit for internships but also gain crucial hands-on experience.
鈥淲e give them real life application rather than theories that you learn in schools,鈥� Arti Kakkar, Executive Director of the Family Service Bureau, said. The department, located at 274 South Orange Ave. in Newark and 379 Kearny Ave. in Kearny, serves 950 to 1,000 clients a month.
Students and their supervisors feasted on a buffet of pasta, pizza and cake at a luncheon but before the meal, each intern shared what they have learned. Also, their supervisors shared insights into how each student has grown both professionally and personally.
Many interns get overwhelmed at first, said Mary Jenkins, a Supervisor and Program Manager.
鈥淭hey see so much going on and they wonder, 鈥楥an I do this?鈥欌�� said Jenkins, at the Family Service Bureau.
But they meet weekly with supervisors and receive training on everything from 鈥渉ow to say hello to a client, all the way to a treatment plan,鈥� Kakkar said. 鈥淲e invest a lot of time in them,鈥� said Kakkar, who, like many other staff, was previously an intern there herself.
Many interns recounted difficult lessons.
鈥淚 learned how not to judge,鈥� said Sonja Tillman, 39, who is pursuing a masters degree in mental health at Montclair State. 鈥淭hat was really hard for me.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e learned patience because so many of my patients have not shown up,鈥� said Kate Thomas, 29, whose Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy program at Seton Hall requires her to complete 500 hours at her internship.
James Woodley, Training Coordinator and Staff Clinician, hopes the interns 鈥渃an apply their craft so the clients will benefit the most.鈥�
He added, 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to hear them talk about the growth they saw in themselves.鈥�
