Final Days and New Beginnings 

As the academic year is coming to an end, there is a lot to reflect on throughout my experience at my internship site, Happyian LLC. Throughout the last 8 months I have grown academically, professionally, and overall, personally. I have had plenty of unique experiences through working in diverse settings, with a variety of populations, and with new teams of therapists. One important lesson I learned throughout this process is the importance of reaching out of your comfort zone. As someone with zero prior experience in the field of Psychology, it was a very nerve-wracking process to find an internship site that I felt I would enjoy and flourish in. If I had never taken the risk to work with Happyian, I would have not formed such deep and meaningful relationships with my supervisors and other therapists, but most importantly with my clients.  

This experience is significantly special to me because it really developed my passion for working with children and for wanting to make a difference in someone else's life. After many conversations with my supervisors, I have realized one important thing which is that not every job gives you the privilege of making a significant difference in someone's life. This is exactly how I view this experience; a privilege. I will be forever grateful that I have been trusted and respected by my clients, my teams, and the families of my clients to work with their children. I am extremely excited to share that I will be continuing my work at Happyian for the entire summer. At Happyian I have the potential to grow as a therapist and as an individual, and I am supported by an amazing group of individuals.  

Although my experience is not ending, I have already had to experience termination throughout this journey. With my schedule constantly changing from quarter to quarter, there have been clients I have had to stop working with because of availability conflicts. It is extremely emotional to be attached to a client and a team of therapists and supervisors that you have worked with for months and have worked with every day to suddenly not being able to work with them. In a study on attachment security in a workplace, researchers have found that workplace attachment security may be beneficial for the organization and is linked to an increase in organizational allure and motivational behavior due to positive relationships that develop throughout the organization (Luke et al., page 1060). My piece of advice for my fellow classmates who are unfortunately leaving their internship sites after graduation is to cherish the relationships you have made and always stay connected to those individuals that have helped you grow and succeed these last 8 months. No one will take away the connection and bond you have built with your customers, clients, peers, or supervisors, and you can continue those relationships later.  

As for new beginnings, I have really enjoyed the educational aspect of my internship experience. Prior to working at Happyian, I did not know much about developmental disabilities and have never even heard of ABA therapy. It was not until I began my training to become a registered behavioral therapist that I had the chance to learn in depth about all the several types of therapeutic approaches. I want to continue to expand my knowledge which is why I have decided to accept a program in Spain where I will be instructing children of all ages. Although this is quite different from my experience at Happyian, I am once again reaching out of my comfort zone to do something I am deeply passionate about, working with children. I am eager to share my experiences and knowledge as an intern at Happyian and apply it to diverse types of opportunities. Without a doubt, I know I will come back 8 months later from Spain and decide what exactly I plan to do for the rest of my life which will always be, making a difference in someone's life.  

References  

Luke, M. A., Carnelley, K. B., & Sedikides, C. (2020). Attachments in the workplace: How

attachment security in the workplace benefits the organisation. European Journal of

Social Psychology, 50(5), 1046–1064. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2652