With all my work with kids, families, adults, elderly, and special needs, I have very few pictures of it all. It's all in my memory, in my heart, and in my growing experience. While I have pictures of my vacations, my friends, the festivals, museums, LA, NYC, Chicago, the dancing, new cities, hiking, adventure sports , beaches, classmates, and the full living of life. The work is not posted on face book, written about on a blog, or in a book. It just contributes to my being and to the others' in a co-created relationship. Documentation of my life and Documentation of the Roaring 20s has it's tremendous amounts of photos, which were always shown to the public. People had the ability to constantly keep up with my "life", but they weren't able to keep up with all my "work."
Therefore, people perceive that all I do with my life is have fun when I have always had hard work as my backbone. The life motto of Priscilla's life has been"work hard, play harder." My countless years of volunteering in the community in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York and my 10 years plus of social service work seem to go unaccounted for because people don't see it. I don't show pictures of me working everyday for almost a year with a 17 year old with severe mental retardation. No one wanted to work with him, but God assigned him to me. He went from angry and violent laying on the floor to walking with prompts and participating in the special Olympics. The 3 year old with severe emotional disturbance and the mother who tried everything and gave everything to this little girl. She was so difficult that the teacher truly believed she was possessed. The group therapy with youth from East LA-those kids and youth who suffered from gang violence, peer pressure, jail time, anger, and little supports. The countless therapy sessions in the back of a van driving through violent streets, in the school, at a clinic, and in the home. The amazing group sessions with God present leading me through incredible psycho education and genuine experiences and stories shared to the core. Working with a young boy in the Bronx foster care system being beaten and abused and desperate to get out. With my persistence, he was sent back to his biological mother. The man with paranoid schizophrenia who never took his meds came to my office everyday wanting to take his life and we worked together for him to be med compliant, on a schedule, and improving. Crisis intervention for those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders in one of the best mental health centers in New York City. And attending one of the best schools in New York City. Being accepted to Colombia and NYU happened, but it was my school that very few people were selected for the Accelerated program.
It's not about a photo rather its about the relationship built, the spiritual and professional exchange, and the work on the behavior accomplished. It's not like I went out in LA and sat and talked about my day working in a school with all special needs kids-no one had an interest to hear about it. It hasn't been talked about rather the work has just been accomplished and I know it's value. There is no point in photographing or talking about it all because I am aware of the greatness of my work. My clients give me the positive recognition and I can measure their change and see their growth. When they take notes, when they ask extra questions, when they follow through on their step by step assignments, when they do believe in God and can connect through faith, belief, hope-it's incredible.
People give little acknowledgement rather than analysis into the work and how human beings are being impacted. No BMWs and big houses= no success and that is very shallow and sad. I truly feel bad for these human beings with empty souls. They want to just act like its a small job in comparison to materialistic positions and corporations. Until you sit with me and see me work with such patience, understanding, dedication, and persistence. Challenging human beings to believe in themselves, utilize their beliefs, strengths, and values-work past the emotional and internal pain and sadness. The improvement of behaviors, people, organizations, classrooms, and superiors. Don't comment on my work because you don't see a picture to prove it. You never will see a picture of the true work of God. It's happening in the exchange with goals being met and people feeling comfortable and empowered to change.
While on a professional level, it's completely unprofessional and breaks confidentiality to have a photo of a client without permission, especially in US settings, but things are getting worse with all the Smart phones. People post everything up on Facebook without consent and they broadcast their work and what they are doing-this is fake and this is extremely sad for clients.
On this blog, I make sure to change names for confidentiality and all pictures are approved. It's a recent occurrence to even be allowed to take any pictures of students or clients, but as I get older my memory fades and those photos help me remember some of my favorite moments. The memory of them stays with me and our time and work together contributes to my growth as a clinician. The more you experience, the more you are learning. Thankful for my clients because they have taught me about life and contributed to my understanding of poverty, illness, hardship, the range of emotion and being, environmental battles, support building,etc. They have allowed me to become better and learn better and see the world brighter
Therefore, people perceive that all I do with my life is have fun when I have always had hard work as my backbone. The life motto of Priscilla's life has been"work hard, play harder." My countless years of volunteering in the community in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York and my 10 years plus of social service work seem to go unaccounted for because people don't see it. I don't show pictures of me working everyday for almost a year with a 17 year old with severe mental retardation. No one wanted to work with him, but God assigned him to me. He went from angry and violent laying on the floor to walking with prompts and participating in the special Olympics. The 3 year old with severe emotional disturbance and the mother who tried everything and gave everything to this little girl. She was so difficult that the teacher truly believed she was possessed. The group therapy with youth from East LA-those kids and youth who suffered from gang violence, peer pressure, jail time, anger, and little supports. The countless therapy sessions in the back of a van driving through violent streets, in the school, at a clinic, and in the home. The amazing group sessions with God present leading me through incredible psycho education and genuine experiences and stories shared to the core. Working with a young boy in the Bronx foster care system being beaten and abused and desperate to get out. With my persistence, he was sent back to his biological mother. The man with paranoid schizophrenia who never took his meds came to my office everyday wanting to take his life and we worked together for him to be med compliant, on a schedule, and improving. Crisis intervention for those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and personality disorders in one of the best mental health centers in New York City. And attending one of the best schools in New York City. Being accepted to Colombia and NYU happened, but it was my school that very few people were selected for the Accelerated program.
It's not about a photo rather its about the relationship built, the spiritual and professional exchange, and the work on the behavior accomplished. It's not like I went out in LA and sat and talked about my day working in a school with all special needs kids-no one had an interest to hear about it. It hasn't been talked about rather the work has just been accomplished and I know it's value. There is no point in photographing or talking about it all because I am aware of the greatness of my work. My clients give me the positive recognition and I can measure their change and see their growth. When they take notes, when they ask extra questions, when they follow through on their step by step assignments, when they do believe in God and can connect through faith, belief, hope-it's incredible.
People give little acknowledgement rather than analysis into the work and how human beings are being impacted. No BMWs and big houses= no success and that is very shallow and sad. I truly feel bad for these human beings with empty souls. They want to just act like its a small job in comparison to materialistic positions and corporations. Until you sit with me and see me work with such patience, understanding, dedication, and persistence. Challenging human beings to believe in themselves, utilize their beliefs, strengths, and values-work past the emotional and internal pain and sadness. The improvement of behaviors, people, organizations, classrooms, and superiors. Don't comment on my work because you don't see a picture to prove it. You never will see a picture of the true work of God. It's happening in the exchange with goals being met and people feeling comfortable and empowered to change.
While on a professional level, it's completely unprofessional and breaks confidentiality to have a photo of a client without permission, especially in US settings, but things are getting worse with all the Smart phones. People post everything up on Facebook without consent and they broadcast their work and what they are doing-this is fake and this is extremely sad for clients.
On this blog, I make sure to change names for confidentiality and all pictures are approved. It's a recent occurrence to even be allowed to take any pictures of students or clients, but as I get older my memory fades and those photos help me remember some of my favorite moments. The memory of them stays with me and our time and work together contributes to my growth as a clinician. The more you experience, the more you are learning. Thankful for my clients because they have taught me about life and contributed to my understanding of poverty, illness, hardship, the range of emotion and being, environmental battles, support building,etc. They have allowed me to become better and learn better and see the world brighter
May God bless all of them. Each and every one of them over the 10 years of service in the US and abroad.
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