After completing my studies in clinical psychology over the course of nearly a year and a half, I am now officially licensed as a clinical psychologist. I am immensely proud of this achievement and deeply grateful to my family, friends, and Friends Peace Teams, who all supported my studies. During my studies in clinical psychology, I learned the steps involved in initiating consultations with clients, determining the interventions to be provided, and selecting the most appropriate interventions based on initial assessments. I learned to analyze problems more critically through assessments before determining the interventions to be provided.
My practical experiences in educational settings (Junior High School), healthcare settings (Elderly Care Home), community settings (SOS Village), and workplace settings (BPR Office) enriched my field experience and shaped how I address challenges in each setting. I have also learned about various psychological assessment tools, including a test designed to identify children’s interests and talents. This is particularly fascinating, as I can use it with the children at Paud Joglo to identify their interests and talents. My current focus is on developing support programs for children, particularly those with special needs, through psychological interventions. These interventions involve addressing the children’s specific needs, such as gross and fine motor therapy, as well as providing support to the children’s parents. Additionally, I will have in-depth discussions with the teachers at Joglo to think through the design and approach for conducting therapy with the children. Balanced support is essential to provide effective therapy for these children.
I have begun providing consultation services to parents to help them create home-based support programs for their children. I currently have four clients, some of whom are from Pati and Yogyakarta. This process is going well. The parents and I communicate and reflect every three weeks about their child’s progress and development. Several other parents have expressed interest in developing home-based support programs in consultation with me.