Hello!!! I want to say, Happy National School Psychology Week! On the NASP website, this year’s theme is called, “Finding Your Path.” As a first year psychologist, that is basically what I’m doing. I’m continuing to find my path as I learn the ropes of a psychologist, especially with a change as I am in a high school this year. Here are some of my thoughts as I finish the first quarter of being a high school psychologist.
Establishing Roles and Boundaries
Anytime you start a new job, especially involving in a team, there’s this period of getting to know how the team works. I’m coming in after a great psychologist who was there for about 8 years. The team has gotten to know how he works and have adapted to his ways. Now that I’m there, we are working on re-establishing some roles and boundaries within the job. It’s been quite a process, but that always happens when there’s a new person. There’s this adjustment period that we’re currently in.
I think it’s super important during this time to be very gentle with myself and remind myself that I’m still learning. Sometimes, I tend to want to be good at something right away, but I’m learning to give myself grace and take it each day at a time. Collaborating with others has also made it easier for me to make sure I know what I’m doing. My mentor, supervisor, and colleagues have definitely been a huge support system for me. I’m super thankful for the community I have around me.
Counseling
So, like I mentioned before, this is my first year AND my first time working with teenagers in a high school setting. I’ve been so used to working with the “littles” (as my mentor would call the elementary school kiddos), this jump to high school has been a learning curve. But I will say, I’ve been enjoying my time working with them so far. High school students typically also come with more mental health experiences, and I walked in with an IEP counseling caseload. I had to brush up a little bit on my counseling and therapeutic communication skills, but I’ve been enjoying it a lot!
