By Vanessa Broadbent (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 25, 2015
Six students from UFV’s bachelor of social work program are doing their practicum at the brand new Chilliwack Youth Health Centre, which opened in January.
The centre is open for youth between the ages of 12 and 26, and is easily accessible, as appointments and referrals are not needed. Youth are placed with one of six UFV students, where they have a counselling session lasting anywhere from half an hour to a full hour.
The centre helps youth with various issues including anxiety, depression, and stress — but one of the students, Tatiana Carrizo, explains they help with many other issues as well.
“It could be anything that’s on their mind. It could be a relationship problem or something more extreme,” she says.
This practicum is giving students the opportunity to actually work as counsellors. Carrizo explained that practicums like this aren’t that easy to come by.
“When I hear other people’s practicum stories, I realize this is cool because I’m actually doing one-on-one [work] with youth and really being put out of my comfort zone,” she says.
Sophia Bilan, another student counsellor, has found herself learning a lot through the experience as well.
“We’re able to practice all the skills that we’ve learned in our schooling, and learn new skills,” she says.
While the students are working one-on-one with youth, Carrizo says they’re also working together as a team by debriefing at the end of the day and brainstorming ways to improve.
“During our debriefs, we often think of what we can improve, [and] how we can change things,” she says.
Bilan also finds this “team dynamic” very important to the centre.
“We may be counselling students individually, but we’re working as a team and every team is going to work differently,” she says. “What I think has made this successful is that we’re working together; we’re supporting each other as students and sharing knowledge and skills.”
Carrizo is happy with the centre’s success so far.
“I didn’t expect all of this, but it’s [unfolding] into something great … it’s something to be proud of,” she says.
The students will be working at the centre until May, when a new batch of practicum students begin their term.
