As a student who Is developing the novice level of skill and knowledge one would need when providing therapeutic care to children, I decided It would be beneficial to ask a seasoned practitioner about their experiences working in the field. This particular profession involves those who offer support and safety to the environment of at risk children or youths.

Even though I have learned and received an extensive amount of information during my first year, I felt as though there was still a substantial amount of information that I would need to become successful within this field.

Luckily, I was able to ask Instructor Stacey Miller, who has been working as a child and youth practitioner with over forty years of experience. Stacey had worked within the residential care setting of this profession assisting many children who had struggled with mental health, as well as traumatic abuse. She also has experience working closely with children as a child and youth worker within a school setting where she witnesses children exhibit behaviours that resemble common mental health exceptionalities. On a daily basis, Stacey was required to create a plan of care to tend to the needs of the child’s behaviour.

With her many years of experience within the field of child and youth care, Stacey Is without a doubt the best person to answer the questions I had about the profession.

I remember asking her why she had pursued a career within the field in the first place. She said,”well, as someone who was in the foster care system as a child, I wanted to make a difference within a child’s life the way someone did for me.” This didn’t come to me as a surprise considering she had disclosed to the class on many occasions that she spent her childhood living within the system. She has experienced many of the same behaviours and feelings as the children she engages with when working in the field.   

As a student who Is starting placement in the fall, I wanted to ask Stacey what she wished someone would’ve told her when she first started her career and she answered,” honestly, there are so many things. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned; don’t take anything personally and don’t lose your cool. These kids would honestly say and do anything just to throw you off because the thought of an adult wanting to show that they’re cared for, scares them. Most of them haven’t experienced what It feels like to be cared for and they don’t know what to do with it.” A response like this Is typically what a practitioner experiences on a daily basis from children and youth. Their experiences had enough traumatic effect on them to trigger their stress response. The stress response Is the brain’s method of self-defense when a person Is In a situation where they feel unsafe physically, emotionally, or mentally. This Is why people are known to either fight, take flight by running away, or fooling the person in question to give them control when they are in dangerous situations.

Considering this Is the type of career where you need to figure things out as they happen, I wanted to know about how she came to choose the settings that she had worked in and she disclosed,” I knew that I wanted to work In residential care because I have experiences and knowledge that would allow me to connect with the clients. I got involved with the school setting because I used to be a teacher, believe It or not. I didn’t have the knowledge I have today about mental health back then and because of that, I get to help teachers as a practitioner when they have students with challenging exceptionalities.” Although there are many schools working towards adapting the environment to meet the needs of these students, there are still many where the staff have limited knowledge of signs and symptoms while not being able to create solutions. This Is why It’s important to have Child and youth care workers working in schools because they have the training required in assisting children struggling with atypical behaviour.

This answer prompted myself to ask which of the settings she worked In was her favourite which she said,” I prefer to working In residential care because of my own past from living in residential care as a child. I believe that because of my experiences I’m able to give children a certain level of understanding where others couldn’t.” Having experiences that resemble the client’s assists In building the therapeutic relationship between the child and practitioner. I’m very grateful for having someone like Stacey answer the questions I had about the profession, considering It’s a career which demands professional development and constant supervision.  

Profile Draft 2

As a student who Is developing the novice level of skill and knowledge one would need when providing therapeutic care to children, I decided It would be beneficial to ask a seasoned practitioner about their experiences working in the field. This particular profession involves those who offer support and safety to the environment of at risk children or youths.

Even though I have learned and received an extensive amount of information during my first year, I felt as though there was still a substantial amount of information that I would need to become successful within this field.

Luckily, I was able to ask Instructor Stacey Miller, who has been working as a child and youth practitioner with over forty years of experience. Stacey had worked within the residential care setting of this profession assisting many children who had struggled with mental health, as well as traumatic abuse. She also has experience working closely with children as a child and youth worker within a school setting where she witnesses children exhibit behaviours that resemble common mental health exceptionalities. On a daily basis, Stacey was required to create a plan of care to tend to the needs of the child’s behaviour.

With her many years of experience within the field of child and youth care, Stacey Is without a doubt the best person to answer the questions I had about the profession.

I remember asking her why she had pursued a career within the field in the first place. She said,”well, as someone who was in the foster care system as a child, I wanted to make a difference within a child’s life the way someone did for me.” (Miller,personal communication,July 7th). This didn’t come to me as a surprise considering she had disclosed to the class on many occasions that she spent her childhood living within the system. She has experienced many of the same behaviours and feelings as the children she engages with when working in the field.

As a student who Is starting placement in the fall, I wanted to ask Stacey what she wished someone would’ve told her when she first started her career and she answered,” honestly, there are so many things. I’ll tell you what I’ve learned; don’t take anything personally and don’t lose your cool. These kids would honestly say and do anything just to throw you off because the thought of an adult wanting to show that they’re cared for, scares them. Most of them haven’t experienced what It feels like to be cared for and they don’t know what to do with it.”(Miller,personal communication,July 7th). A response like this Is typically what a practitioner experiences on a daily basis from children and youth. Their experiences had enough traumatic effect on them to trigger their stress response. The stress response Is the brain’s method of self-defense when a person Is In a situation where they feel unsafe physically, emotionally, or mentally. This Is why people are known to either fight, take flight by running away, or fooling the person in question to give them control when they are in dangerous situations.

Considering this Is the type of career where you need to figure things out as they happen, I wanted to know about how she came to choose the settings that she had worked in and she disclosed,” I knew that I wanted to work In residential care because I have experiences and knowledge that would allow me to connect with the clients. I got involved with the school setting because I used to be a teacher, believe It or not. I didn’t have the knowledge I have today about mental health back then and because of that, I get to help teachers as a practitioner when they have students with challenging exceptionalities.”(Miller,personal communication,July 7th). Although there are many schools working towards adapting the environment to meet the needs of these students, there are still many where the staff have limited knowledge of signs and symptoms while not being able to create solutions. This Is why It’s important to have Child and youth care workers working in schools because they have the training required in assisting children struggling with atypical behaviour.

This answer prompted myself to ask which of the settings she worked In was her favourite which she said,” I prefer to working In residential care because of my own past from living in residential care as a child. I believe that because of my experiences I’m able to give children a certain level of understanding where others couldn’t.” (Miller,personal communication,July 7th).Having experiences that resemble the client’s assists In building the therapeutic relationship between the child and practitioner. I’m very grateful for having someone like Stacey answer the questions I had about the profession, considering It’s a career which demands professional development and constant supervision.