The Mindless Ramblings of a Paranoid Children's Counselor

     I spent the vast majority of my time at work yesterday essentially "ignoring" my responsibilities.  Months ago, Nathan, (the therapist), said he was going to place a notebook containing all of the clients' treatment plans in the upstairs staff office.  Well, during Friday's meeting, I made mention of how that was never done.  So, come Saturday there was a nice little notebook full of information on the clients.  Since I am still having trouble understanding how essentially babysitting can be considered therapy, I decided to dedicate my Saturday to researching the treatment plans for each of the clients.  I thought, "hey, this will take a couple of hours, max, and then I'll have something important to contribute when I go to treatment team meeting on Tuesday".  Well, I was wrong.  It was very labor intensive trying to decipher all of the rigmarole that is associated with each client.  

 

     So I decided that I am going to spend my free time these next couple of days working on a paper concerning the matter.  this serves a variety of functions.  First, I have not written a paper in a very long time, and I miss it a little.  I sat down to start and could not remember important jargon necessary for the task at hand.  Second, when and if I have to reinterview for my job, I will have a detailed list of what we do and how it effects each of the clients.  And third, when and if I am offered an interview for a graduate program, it will be nice to show that I have done research outside of the confines of the colligate setting.

     So I begin my task...a little later.  Right now I am playing with Pete and Squishy.  I was upset with them earlier today.  I woke up around 9 and came into my room (I slept on the couch) to play with them, and wouldn't you know it they were out of food.  Well, being the concerned pet owner that I am, I--in my half concious, still waking up, mindframe--drove to the pet store to get them some more food.  This isn't a big deal, but I was tired and had planned on not leaving the confines of my apartment all day.  They are cute and worth it though.  Even if Pete won't stop trying to dig his way under my closet door, and even if Squishy just urinated on my yoga mat.  Insert a sigh here, along with a brief pause to clean the mess.

     Pete is potty trained and will use his litter area when the occasion arises, Squishy, (who is much older and thus past the training years), believes the world is her toilet.  I love them though.  It was one of the best decisions I've made in a while to get them.  I know I don't have all of the time needed to dedicate to them, but the time I do have is made so mush more enjoyable by just watching them scamper about.

     Warm fuzzies aside, I should begin work on my research.  I am trying to present the various diagnoses for the children, on a scale showing the most frequently presented diagnosis sliding to once in a blue moon occurance.  I will discuss the suggested theraputic interventions for each diagnosis, and compare that suggestion with the way the staff at Glenwood interacts with each child.  I have not yet determined what the scale will be to determine success in the program.  I guess that understanding means I have work to do.