Assignments

Interview a Health Professional

I am ecstatic to announce that I was given the opportunity to conduct an interview with an LPN (Licensed Professional Counselor), Ms. Jaclyn Boykin. Ms. Boykin currently works based out of Richmond, VA for Thriveworks. She has obtained her Masters of Psychology and is licensed to practice by the Virginia State Board along with a couple of other certifications in anxiety, trauma training, and EMDR. 

During this interview, I got to learn and understand briefly, what it is like to be a LPC. Ms. Boykin found herself to be a good listener when it comes to the problems of other individuals and taking the psychology course in school sparked Ms. Boykin’s career in outpatient therapy and community mental health. She has been a CPN working in outpatient therapy for the past 2 ½ years. She is able to help people overcome their challenges and to fully understand their challenges as well. She also acts as a case manager when it comes to the patients and the documents regarding their care. It was found out that Ms. Boykin’s facility was sustainable, since she is working remotely most of the time. Very minimal resources are needed when everything is online and she acts as her own boss by implementing practices that work for her but that also follow the Virginia Board policies. Ms. Boykin believes sustainability leaves room for growth and can prevent burnout in the long run and understands the importance of practicing sustainable measures in the workplace. Ms. Boykin takes pride in knowing that her work helps people, but feels discouraged at times when she knows she couldn’t reach a person that needed help, and they wind up dealing with it in another way. Lastly, Ms. Boykin believes that before anyone settles on a career, it is important that the occupation is thoroughly researched to make sure that you actually will enjoy doing what you signed up for. I have learned that there is an alarming amount of African American boys in underrepresented communities that have experienced some form of sexual abuse and/or trauma from Ms. Boykin as well from this interview.

Mid-Semester Reflection

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iW772SYCE03rJoAuI6PstCJjI7cmdlybLcrGVtIP5cU/edit?usp=sharing