Hello NOWorNEVER,
Yes, I have extensive knowledge and experience in working with this particular population...and it WILL be challenging. I am an Intensive In-Home coordinator and counselor for a private Mental Health agency here in Richmond, Virginia. Our goal is to actually assist in trying to PREVENT any out-of-home placements of these high risk children. Now, I understand that you may have some anxiety about working with this population in a residential facility, but the children that you may be working with are not conformed to ANY type of DISCIPLINE or STRUCTURE. It will be just like starting all over again. But just think of it like this...they WILL know who they can "mess with". You see, I work with children whose parents have like ZERO parenting skills and who ALSO have Mental Health diagnoses themselves. These children are truant, oppositional, hopeless, angry, defiant, disrespectful, hostile.... But these behaviors, as you may know, are the RESULT of issues much deeper than what we see...(and the majority of these behaviors are targeted MAINLY towards the parents/guardian). You HAVE TO keep that in mind. I have been doing this work for nearly four years and because of JESUS and my APPROACH (I am a REALIST and a GESTALTIST, and I utilize a LOT of humor and COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL interventions and techniques), I have YET to work with a child who has demostrated these behaviors towards ME. I make it a PRIORITY to let the child know where I'M coming from. For example, during my very FIRST session with clients AND their parent or guardian, I make sure that they understand that I'm not there to be judgemental and that I'm willing to hear ANYTHING that they have to say about ANYTHING. HOWEVER, they can't just APPROACH me in ANY kind of manner. Another example is that I let all of my clients know that it's okay for them to be angry,upset, sad, disappointed, or whatever with their mother, father, teacher, or whoever. HOWEVER, the issue is not so much about WHAT they are feeling, but how they are EXPRESSING that feeling.
NOWorNEVER, we could go on and on and on about this topic. It is sooooo very much in depth that we couldn't POSSIBLY type it all out.
But I WILL say this...ask JESUS to help you because you WILL need Him.
NULOOK (also known as KORKSCRU)
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