Taja’s Perspective
Week two has been totally amazing… To sum it up, I would call week two a week of awareness and rebuilding and refocus for yourself. This week was 6 days to feeling complete both professionally and personally. This week has definitely pushed me pass my limits and gave me even more passion to follow my career of being more of a heart lead worker within the helping skills field. (Taja)
Day one at Berry Street was extremely exciting. The best part was because you were able to be hands on which was a great experience. Berry Street offered a play group for parents and their children to come to interact with others as well as provide a space for the parents and kids to have some social bonding through play. Being a mother of two little kids; I was quite impressed to see such an awesome service available especially being free. Play groups are important and such an empowering movement for children. (Taja)
Day two at Young and Well showed me so many different and unique strategies to get youth involved with research and being apart of such a positive movement. I was totally amazed. One thing that stood out to me the most was how much they involve young people in the research and process of developing apps for young people. One tool that I really thought was awesome was the movement of uplifting Aboriginal fathers through their website. That was a great thing to create for the mainstream to view because there are always fewer positive things viewed about fathers in today’s society; especially fathers that are men of color. (Taja) Another aspect to this day that really fit closely to my desired future career path was the visit to Reach. Reach was a safe space for youth to come and have a voice and be heard without judgment. Reach was an organization that our inner cities are in desperate need of. To know that these awesome group of people are dedicated to creating a place where youth from all walks of life to feel accepted and valued was definitely a moment that made my heart smile. That was the moment when my inner self decided to create a “Reach” for my at-risk inner city youth that I work with. Their energy definitely recharged mine to the fullest. (Taja).
Day three at Mind was a life changing moment for me. I really never fully understood what Mental Health all entailed and didn’t think I would ever. I have a childhood history of seeing my mother be a single parent struggling to make ends meet. With those struggles came some suicidal attempts. Sitting in the art room at Mind and just looking at the art and reading the quotes of the clients took me to another place. Once I read one piece that stated “When I say I’m good. I really want someone to look me deep in the eyes and say Tell me the TRUTH…” At that moment I was reminded to a time when my mother was checked into a mental health treatment facility due to a suicidal attempt. We were moving to Columbus, Ohio and I had to leave first because the school year was starting. I thought my mother was coming a few weeks later however the stress, worries, and concerns got the best of her. My god mother found her on the Ocean City, MD bridge about to take the jump to end her life. My mother knew it was that moment that she wanted her kids to see a better her and she reached out for help. I still to this day am not sure what kind of facility she was at however I remembered not too long ago coming across the art that did and used for a coping mechanism. So, to organizations such a Mind; I thank you SO MUCH because its strategies such as the art that is used that saved my mother’s life. Now I am able to see my mother in a much better state of mind, very successful, and enjoying her grand children. Mind allowed me to see things in my mother’s perceptive which makes my level of appreciation for organizations like Mind Even Higher!!! Dr. Cash really gave me tons of support during that process and I was so grateful for her words of encouragement to “Look at my hands and remind myself to stay in the present moment.” That was so profound. (Taja).
Day four through six was a moment for me! This was the first time that I have ever been given the opportunity to surround myself in Nature and becoming one with it and I can say that my whole self definitely was healed and created! I am not one that would normally walk a lot or even think about hiking a mountain, coming close to a wild Kangaroo, go through a rainforest, or embrace being out in nature.
However, with the motivation and push from my cohorts; I was able to break limits that I never thought I would break and that was the best feeling in the world. To experience what I felt inside after every step I took was absolutely liberating. I am so grateful for my new friends. They truly bring out the best me! Also, to Katie, our tour guide ~ she introduced a tool that will always be a necessity for my well being, which was mediation. It was so healing and created new visions, new aspirations, and a new me! So from now on because of the help from my cohorts I can now share with the world the beauty in nature and the movement to just inhale, exhale, and breathe…. One step at a time. (Taja).
Mary’s perspective:
This week we had a full schedule of agency visits and I feel that I was able to personally connect with one agency in particular: Young and Well. Young and Well is a research hub dedicated to making mental health services more accessible to youth through apps, partnerships, and outreach. This was the first agency that really related to my interest in mental health and psychology. My favorite thing about Young and Well was the way they made mental health resources available 24/7 to youth.
When someone is struggling with mental health issues, they may only be able to get in-person help once a week, if that. However, Young and Well provides a plethora of services available at any given time through their partnership with headspace. This works through a series of self-report questions that pinpoint what services would work best for the issues faced by the client. Sometimes there is some bias or agenda in what services are recommended, but that did not seem to be the case with this tool.
Overall, Young and Well seemed like they were really at the forefront of mental health technology and research in Australia. They work hard to connect with youth, as seen in their annual youth summit. Every year, they bring together 20 diverse youth to find out what they need and what they find helpful. I would love to work with the tools that Young and Well implements in my future as a (hopeful) clinical psychologist.
Other agency visits this week included Berry Street, Reach, and Mind. I enjoyed all of them, as they all had a unique perspective on the current state of mental health and welfare services in Australia.
The other half of the week was spent doing my favorite thing: exploring the outdoors! We got the awesome opportunity to tour with our tour guide Katie for three days on the Great Ocean Road. So many great things happened over those three days so I’ll try to keep it concise and only talk about my favorite thing from each day.
Day 1: the rainforest. Personally, I have never been to a rainforest and was not sure what to expect but I was excited. When we finally stepped out of the bus, it was a completely new world. I do not think I have ever breathed such fresh air or smelled such vibrant plants. We climbed up what seemed to be a billion stairs to see a waterfall and also the biggest tree there, which, to our surprise, had fallen down about 7 years ago. I loved the feeling of being out of breath (which is weird, I know) in nature. While you sit there just breathing in and out, you notice the difference in the air: cleaner, crisper, and better. It is also a humbling experience to realize how much you rely on what nature gives us.
Day 2: The helicopter tour. Like what?!…..I can’t believe I got to do this. Not only did I get to sit next to the pilot, but I also got to take the tour over the beautiful 12 Apostles. What huge and beautiful formations they are. I was left speechless from the way everything looked. Then I got to see the same thing from the ground. It is amazing what perspective can do. The Apostles are completely different when viewed from above and the ground.
Day 3: McKenzie Falls, the Grampians. I am a sucker for a good waterfall and man was this a good one. You climb down a ton of stairs to come upon a huge and seemingly perfect waterfall. Being the person that I am, I had to keep following the trail to see what was beyond. I found more, smaller waterfalls. When I came back up, my whole group was meditating so I took some time to sit on a rock and meditate alone. I love being alone in the wild. You can look around and just peacefully sit around, quietly pondering everything and anything. I watched the water for a good 20 minutes. Water to me is so incredible, how it just keeps flowing – and if it stopped flowing, so would everything else. I thought about how nature works together so perfectly and without interference from us. Sitting on this rock, I had never felt so small.
Overall, this goes down as one of the best weekends of my l
ife so far. I am so #blessed to experience the natural world as much as I have. Being able to notice the simple things, the feel, smell, and sensations of nature is always a spiritual experience for me (I am one of those people). I was honestly not looking forward to coming back to the city but I can assure everyone that I will make the most of it!
-Mary