Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

Life, anyone’s life for that matter is worth fighting for, and even if the best outcome is not the biggest, it is not the most useful.

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?  

The most important thing I learned from my mentor is the best outcome from approaching anyone who is suicidal, is not that they pledge to never commit suicide but in fact helping that person step down from their immediate urge and provide them with hope to continue wanting to make a difference in their own lives regardless. At the moment you talk to someone and address suicide, all of the attention is on that person, and that person only, it is their moment to be heard and have support and if anyone is able to listen and provide them with the time and proper encouragement they can at least provide a glimmer of hope. A small glimmer can grow and expand to completely modify the life path they are choosing for themselves. Instead of ending their life, they allow themselves to see past that to a world where their issues have solutions. It was being able to understand how the best outcome of approach does not have to be a complete elimination of the entire problem in one sitting, but in reality it is just pushing for one more day of life.

                                                                                                                                                          

2.  How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

Overall my approach to my interviews has changed drastically from my first one to this one, particularly because I hid behind my mentor for the first two. Although I was able to get a constructive amount of information throughout my first two interviews, it was this third interview that provided me with a different perspective on helping those who need it. Lizette Martinez, the Volunteer Coordinator at the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center in Culver City was very open to her experience in suicide prevention and on her background as a volunteer for over 4 years. I was able to get to know Ms. Martinez just by a conversation and was able to find her muse through wanting to help others by preventing suicide - the most preventable form of death. Her current passion has allowed me to have a deeper understanding of why people help each other, and most importantly, has allowed me to branch for ideas for my second independent component which has been to create a campaign to create suicide prevention awareness.  

Blog 16: Independent Component 2 Approval

KEEP AIMING! 

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my second independent, I plan working alongside Katie Lopez in order to create a campaign on suicide prevention/awareness which will be directed towards adolescents, teaching about the different aspects and factors that go into suicide prevention. The goal of the campaign is to promote and educate the public through the use of PSAs on digital and tangible platforms - including but not limited to: Posters, websites, blogs, and commercials. We also hope to be able to fundraise some money to be able to donate to non-profit organizations that are currently researching different approaches to suicide prevention - the details on how this fundraiser will take part are still in the works as we need to talk to our house teachers.

The name of our campaign will be called “keep aiming as it will focus on looking at the silver lining from each personal problem and individual can have. In order for an arrow to shoot forwards it needs to be held back, just like the issues presented by the USA

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I intend on logging how often I work on this project, and  I will also be dedicating my time to speak to different classes on suicide prevention to educate our grade and potentially our whole school. During iFest we will try to find volunteers who would be willing to help promote our campaign or learn about the topic of suicide.

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic in more depth.

This component will allow me to explore my topic more in depth because I will be focusing on the advertising and actual awareness of suicide prevention adding a layer of understanding to this complicated web. In educating the public, I hope to be able to provide the tools that one day could save lives.

4. Independent Component 2

Independent Component 1

LITERAL

• I, Jocelyn Sanchez, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 33 hours hours of work.
• (b) Works Cited
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D_25XELuHqZWXHeRHetaJpfUH2EYQxOv3wko3B5CvOo/edit?usp=sharing .
• (d) Explain what you completed.    
• Throughout the course of my 30 hours I worked with Gennesis Romero to create an accessible online platform (WordPress) which the public can use to help identify different disorder and major contributors that can affect the mental health of an elderly once they reach the approximate age of 60 years. We also created a Pintrest platform to reach the ages of those 15-25 and created an Instagram account to target teenagers so that they will want to care for their grandparents or elder members of their family or life.

INTERPRETIVE

• Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
• https://mentalelderhealth.wordpress.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/mentalelder/
• https://www.pinterest.com/mentalelderheal/

APPLIED

• How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate this.
• This component made it simple for me to learn about my topic because I was able to specifically research components that are also major contributors on suicide. Although we did cover suicide plenty, it was not the entire purpose of our blog. The purpose was to educate the public and in doing research both Gennesis and myself were given the opportunity to expand our horizons on our topics. Since I had prior knowledge to the elderly, and her topic was geriatrics, I was able to provide her with some tools that I had found prior to this project. As for myself, the research I put into this blog also allowed me to look deeper into aspects like abandonment and abuse that dragged me further into the science that leads to suicide, and I probably would not have gotten so intrigued if it were not for this.

Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

Out of everything for my Lesson 2 Presentation, I am most proud of making time. I had practiced multiple times before but every time I practiced I always went over time. Right before my presentation I made the decision to get rid of several slides of content which brought me to around 21 minutes of speaking. It took a lot of moving around, and I felt like the basic, necessary information got across. In addition to that, I also felt like I was able to reach several people as I received several offers for IC#2 opportunities which I believe may serve me well in my future.

2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

   AE

2. b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

In all honesty, I believe I could have presented a lot more appropriately but I allowed my nerves get in the way of my ability to present. Although I did present the requirements, I felt that my overall communication could have been better. My voice was quite shaky and I spoke very quickly trying to get my points across, before running out of time. Even though I did make time, I spoke too fast which could have caused an issue with my clarity of thought.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

What went in my presentation, I suppose may have been my hook activity. I wanted to reach a happy, quick mood before I got into the very depressing content I would later present. I am thinking of different ways to bettering my presentation so that I can give off a lighter tone that the one I did in this one. I do not think I’ll try story-time the way I did during this presentation, because it was quite messy and in the end did not contribute as much as I thought it would when I practiced, So it served as a learning experience for my final presentation.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

If I had a time machine I would completely take out the “story-time” segment because I do not feel it had a positive effect to my presentation. I just could have easily said the stories throughout my presentation instead of collecting it all at once. I would have also kept my slide on the 4 main stages of suicide, in order to give a better basis on suicide as a whole than just several definitions and types. I would minimize the amount of time I focused only on risk factors and warning signs so that I could talk more about approaching someone who is suicidal, and maintain a well rounded presentation.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

My second answer, is going to be knowing the proper procedure and approach someone should use when they decide to talk to a person who is suicidal. For example, in this presentation I briefly touched upon the most important characteristic when approaching someone who is suicidal, being non judgmental. In my third interview, I focused upon this with Lizette Martinez and have collected sufficient information on this regard and I hope that teaching people how to approach someone will lighten the whole fact that people commit suicide. Now that the students know they signs to watch out for, I can provide them with more tools to be able to help their friends, family, peers and anyone else who they come across - even a stranger.

Blog #14: Third Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?

For this interview, I intend on interviewing Lizette Martinez from the DIdi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center. Her current position in this facility is the Training Coordinator for online suicide prevention chats. hotline volunteers and support group members. She is responsible for all of the education that the volunteers receive in order to ensure that each person who is receiving help is receiving the best help possible.

 

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview?

Currently, my interviewee and I are still discussing times which are compatible for both of us. Initially, we discussed having it in person, however, video chatting may be our best option considering that our central locations are far from each other.

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

Why would being educated on suicide prevention risk factors assist in approach?

How is approaching someone who may be experiencing suicidal ideation be done?

4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).

How can access to resources help prevent suicide?

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ.

What factors do you believe are the most significant to leading someone into considering suicide?

Why is proper education on risk factors important to preventing suicide?

How would one approach someone who is considering suicide, or is at high risk of completing it?
What are important factors to consider before beginning to apprach someone with suicidal ideation?

Blog 13: 10 Hours Mentorship Check-In

“The exchange of knowledge is what creates a bond between the mentor and the student.”

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

Throughout the course of senior year I have been completing my senior mentorship hours with Dr. Maureen Burney at Chino Mental Health Associates located at 13751 Roswell Ave # A, Chino, CA 91710.

2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?

The person who called in was my mentor, clinical/health psychologist Dr. Maureen Burney. I would consider her an expert since she achieved a doctorate in clinical and health psychology and has accumulated over 30 years of experience in practice within the mental health field. In addition to this she has worked in various locations including the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center as a supervisor of the Crisis Intervention Team, Pitzer College as a research assistant, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health as a Masters Level Practicum, and the Behavioral Medicine Unit of La Palma Hospital.

3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).

In total I have completed a total of 57 hours including my 10 summer mentorship hours.

4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.

What I have completed with my mentor have been various tasks experiences in the psychology field including creating evaluations and predictions of different patients, working on business management (independent practitioners) and lastly on small projects of investigation towards informing the public on the importance of knowledge on mental health.

I believe that my mentor and I have a strong bond that has been reflected in the way that I have presented my knowledge on my topic of suicide prevention. Dr. Burney has been a great mentor not only for senior project but for other important aspects in following a field in psychology. She assisted me with applying to private schools that specialize in psychology and pushed me to look at myself so that I could better other people.

For my next hours my mentor and I plan on working on a new project of creating a video channel on informing the public - possibly with PSAs or with short educational films.

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

This break I took a lot of moment of self-reflection  where I realized how my mind is not that different of those who I want to help. This has given me a better understanding of the importance of caring for oneself before trying to save the world. 

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

Over the course of the break, I dedicated time to go in and help my mentor, worked on my independent component and lastly began researching different associations and groups that could train me to be a suicide prevention counselor (which could serve as my second independent component).

I went in to help my mentor for a total of eight and a half hours over the break primarily to help input patient information and reports of progress into an online database for future reference, and also to begin mapping out a project my mentor wants to begin of creating a youtube channel to educate the general public about the brain and introduce facts about how physical health can affect mental health. In addition to this, we discussed different factors that could lead into depression from overworking oneself, as we went over the schedules that each one of us upheld.

I felt that this break allowed more personal construction tied in with a realization of how different factors that I am currently researching are directly tied into my own life. This simple acknowledgment has pushed me to focus on helping myself grow while also motivating me to want to help others.  

As for working on my independent component, I published several of my blog posts that I had been holding back. Gennesis (my partner) furnished the rough edges that we both found in my blog posts and I furnished several of hers which we both hope to finalize soon. In addition to this, I began to post on our Instagram and Gennesis also concentrated on our Pinterest account.

Lastly, for my second independent component I had hoped to take a Psychology Class at Young Scholars, however, the classes were either out of my schedule or could not fit me in the class. As an alternative, I began to look at different trainings on suicide which I could take which through seminars and lessons add up to just about 30 hours! There are a series of programs (eSuicideTalk, safeTalk, ASIST) which all focus on suicide prevention at different levels, ranging from students to medical professionals and what I am aiming to do is be able to participate in these programs, even as an observer. At the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center in Santa Ana they offer these trainings, and my mentor is also pulling a few strings to see if it is possible.

ASIST is the most extensive form of suicide prevention training and I am keeping high hopes that I will be allowed to at least observe. I remain with my fingers crossed. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing I would say that I learned is that the mental health of an individual cannot be determined by their knowledge of the human psyche and those involved in helping others are also very much susceptible to falling ill. Simply knowing about a topic does not make you invisible and it isn’t until you begin to apply what you know to your life or on those around you that it becomes useful. I learned this from a mixture of personal challenges along with a talk with my mentor on stress, and knowing when to “stop.” Reaching mental breaking points is preventable, and knowing your limits is essential especially if you are trying to help others.  

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

There are currently two people I have in line: Patricia Harness-Overley M.S. who is a counselor with Hope After Suicide in Chino and Rick Grant Coons, PsyD. the leader of the Suicide Prevention Center at the Didi Hirsch Facility. I hope to get at least interview one of them because they are experts in suicide prevention — one focuses on helping families after a suicide attempt has been completed and the other focuses on preventing suicide before an attempt is made — which would provide me with a different perspectives on suicide that I currently do not have.