Sunday, March 16, 2008

3-16-08

I keep logging in to write about something that happened at work, then I start thinking about all the reflection questions and other experiences I have not wrote about that i need to catch up on, and I get overwhelmed then log out. So what I am going to do is try to at least stay current, and catch up on other experiences as I can. I will try to keep it from getting confusing as much as I can so please bear with me...

I'm not sure if I have explained much about what I do, but I work in Hoosier House at Cummins. We have adults with severe mental illnesses who otherwise would sit at home all day by themselves. They come to Hoosier House to have some structure in their day, and to learn a variety of Adult Daily Living (ADL) Skills. Each day we structure their time with a morning group, nutrition group, lunch, and two afternoon groups. Besides the nutrition group, all the groups vary each day, from social skills, budgeting, current events, coping skills, stress management skills, self care skills (hygiene), recovery lifestyle, exercise, etc.

The actual description published in the Hoosier House pamphlet says:

Hoosier House is a Psychosocial Program for consumers of mental health services in Hendricks County. Hoosier House provides members with daily opportunities to engage in meaningful work that directly benefits all members. The work provides members the opportunity to focus on strengths, self-determination, and personal empowerment, develop adult daily living skills, and further knowledge. Hoosier House has a goal to concentrate on the recovery of the members and help members to reach their individual potentials through education, ADL skills, and social skills groups.

One of the big differences between what I do and what many other people do is that the clients I work with (we call them consumers) will be my clients all semester while most everyone else will only work with their clients temporarily, or for a somewhat short period of time. Some people only see their clients a few times total, or maybe work with them for a couple weeks. I will see my clients everyday for the entire course of my practicum.


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