One placement down.

My time with DSC has ended. Well, this placement anyway.

My farewell with DSC began with a cup of coffee and editing my last eligibility report + letter. In the middle of it, 2 psychs came over and giving me a box of chocolates, big hugs and a final byebye. I brought blueberry and orange cake, along with my brownies (they were more popular than the cake- it was a good feeling bringing home 2 empty boxes) to the last referral meeting as my BIG thank you for having me there. There was a wave of feelings- I can't quite describe what, when my supervisor summarises my input to the team- what I have learnt is useful afterall.

It was a mad rush trying to finish up last minute changes to reports and packing up my desk. Seb and Leo (OT students) made me a card- very sweet and thoughtful of them. The hand drawn it btw. They would have laminate it (according to Leo) but the machine was not available. Did I mention that I really dig the laminating machine? It's a wondeful piece of stationary.

My final report? Apparently, I have a "gentle yet effective" way of questioning my clients and that I can "sit with periods of uncomfortable silence." Areas of improvements? To increase my level of confidence (how to when you are being graded for EVERYThiNG you do?- including my chats with the SP and OTs!) and have a chance to cut my teeth in more functional analysis.

The most touching moment? When I opened up feedback letters from my clients. Sometimes, you get so caught up with the intervention and being "in the moment" that you forget being human can be effective too. "Being on time", "keeping her promises", "clarifying when she could not understand N", "making the program easy to understand" and "caring". Those are the things they say what our sessions meant to them. It wasn't just the intervention itself.

Perhaps I almost lost myself before reading these feedback letters.