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Elevator Pitch Visual.pptxMy internship site is a psychiatry research site in the IU Psychotic Disorders Program that focuses on education, research, and treatment of individuals with early psychosis, which affects roughly 24 million people worldwide. Psychosis is a mental disorder that is characterized by a disconnection from reality, a well-known example is schizophrenia. Early psychosis encompasses those who are experiencing psychotic symptoms for the first time. Currently, my site is focusing on a study comparing the effects of Telehealth (online-based counseling) and in-person treatment and counseling.
If you're interested, below is a link to a website that highlights our research, in addition to a short informative video about what schizophrenia is.
Project Summary
Project Summary
My internship site is the IU Psychotic Disorders Program. This program focuses on helping people in the early stages of psychosis and psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia by conducting research to better understand and treat psychotic disorders. My tasks involve writing transcriptions of therapy sessions and entering data for current and past studies. My work related to individuals with psychotic disorders has made me interested in treatments for psychosis. There are currently many available treatments, such as antipsychotic drugs and metacognitive therapy.
Animal-assisted therapy is a type of therapy that includes the use of animals and has proven to be successful for many types of mental illnesses. Some studies have shown that the use of animals in therapy may be beneficial for those with psychotic disorders. My project looks at different studies on animal-assisted therapy and compares the use of different animals, such as dogs, cats, horses, and even birds. The goal is to evaluate which animal is most effective in treating those with psychotic disorders.
Learning and Skills
Learning and Skills
During my internship I hope to learn and understand the inner workings of a clinical research lab. I would like to build my communication skills and learn how to suit them in a more professional setting. I really want to focus on learning from the clinicians, seeing what they do and how so that when I begin work in that field, I feel like I have an understanding already.
I'm most excited about shadowing opportunities. This will allow me to get a close-up look at the work life of some of my coworkers with much more experience than myself. I can discover things about their jobs that I didn't know, and maybe even discover an exciting career path!
I currently feel confident in my ability to work independently, I do most of my work at my internship site independently, and I have been working independently in many other jobs. I work independently on transcriptions, data entry, and research. I am currently developing my skills in communication, specifically in a professional environment. I communicate in person with my coworkers about ongoing projects, and via email about what I am up to, and what needs to be done. I will improve this skill by continuing to work with others and practicing my communication, both in person and via email and phone.
As my internship site focuses on research pertaining to psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, I have learned a lot about schizophrenia, through writing transcriptions and reading clinical notes on patients. This is a great supplement to my psychology and neuroscience classes where we talk about the same disorders. My internship gives me a more realistic depiction of psychotic disorders, while my classes outline the textbook definitions. The real-world examples help deepen my understanding.
So far in my internship, I have most enjoyed my opportunities to work with others and see what their daily work life is like, such as how they interact with patients. It is really valuable for me to get an idea of what I could end up doing in my future career. I have learned a lot about what a research team looks like, and how it works.
The Workplace
The Workplace
One of the most important attributes as a teammate that I've noticed is camaraderie. Spending some time getting to know your teammates can help you to better understand each other and therefore work as a better team. Knowing your teammates well can also help you to just have a little fun. Personally, I have issues with social interactions, as it makes me nervous. I want to work on those professional friendships so I can work better in a team.
Working in this environment, I have definitely learned that I have a long way to go. Everyone I work with is much more educated than I am, and there is a lot I still don't understand, but it has made me excited to keep learning and reach their level someday. My internship has been different than what I expected, mostly in that I didn't expect to be working independently as often as I do. After learning the ropes in the beginning, I do most of my work independently, and I have some tasks that I am responsible for on my own.
One thing that has been really valuable about this internship is working with people of different backgrounds, and people with more experience than me. I have learned about the importance of different perspectives, and how they can broaden the work that we do. I have grown by learning from others about their experiences and gaining valuable perspectives.
The workplace culture of my team is very laidback and friendly. My team values camaraderie and making everyone feel included. Even on my first day, I felt that my team cared about me as a person and wanted to hear about my plans for my future career and how they can help me. I have really enjoyed my experience here and think that I would want to be in a very similar workplace in the future.
Successes and Challenges
Successes and Challenges
One way I have felt successful is just at the end of a task. Whenever I am able to finish something and turn it in as done, it feels great to have accomplished something all on my own, even if the task isn't particularly challenging. Another way I have felt successful is after learning to do something new, or learning about something new. It's really cool when I can connect my internship to my coursework, and often I learn something new about psychotic disorders that I can connect to my previous knowledge, which helps me feel like I'm on the right path. By asking questions and having some determination, I've been able to have these successes. These successes have taught me the importance of small victories, which can help me to keep my spirits up in future, more challenging endeavors.
One of the most challenging aspects of this internship has been focusing. Focusing has never been my strength, and this work environment is very different from jobs I've had in the past. I have to work hard to get things done on my own, as people are relying on me to do things without supervision. Another challenging aspect is just how much new stuff I've had to learn. I've had to learn how to navigate data and what to look for, such as within clinical notes, which are not always straightforward. This will all come with practice and time, along with the support of my teammates. My internship team has been extremely supportive and willing to teach me, which has been really helpful in overcoming these challenges.
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