Spain Trip Journal Entrant 2

                Much of the internship this week consisted of covering types of therapy that haven’t been shown yet, as well as new therapeutic techniques. What was particularly interesting here is Ventura frequently used different strategies from different types of therapy in the same session. For example, in a family/group therapy session, he briefly took out several different figurines and asked each family member to model how they see the interaction between one another.

                Many professors and psychologists I have met have placed great emphasis on the importance of keeping an open mind, and seeing the value in different types of therapy. However, this is the first time I actually saw that importance played out in a session of therapy.

                I finally had a chance to see what kind of gifts Madrid had to offer when I went shopping for souvenirs for several family members back home. From my shopping it appears Spain’s souvenir shops have mostly the same gifts, with distinct focus on landmarks and animals associated with the country. Spain’s Coat of Arms, which is a bear attempting to eat from a strawberry tree, came up often just to name one example. This isn’t that surprising, but very different from the gift-shops I’ve seen in northern Minnesotan towns such as Ely, many of which sell a multitude of different items. It ended up being problematic when I couldn’t find any kind of gift featuring a honey bee.

Last Friday I also took a bit of time to tour a random part of Madrid. Specifically, Alto De Exteremadura. This area (the western part at least) had far more wildlife and forestry than the central city of Madrid, which was a welcome change of pace. It helped me see more than just the industrialized side of Spain.

Spain Trip Journal Entrant 1

Most of week 1 of this trip to Spain involved becoming used to life in the new country, and getting prepared for the upcoming class and internship. As a result, not much happened. Week 2 was when I first delved deeply into my ‘Learn to Watch Therapy’ internship, and began viewing a large number of different types of therapies I had studied in previous classes. In the process, the internship advisor, Ventura, taught several students, and I about different important psychological concepts.

                One of the more unfamiliar ideas Ventura introduced to me was an emphasis on finding the ‘cause’ of mental disorders and maladaptive behaviors. What he essentially tried to explain was often psychologists and psychiatrists (moreso the later) will provide some form of treatment to patients that will get rid of whatever unhealthy symptoms they have, but not resolve the root cause of the anxiety that caused the unhealthy symptoms in the first place. The example Ventura used is of a son whose parents fight all the time, and as a result he develops an eating disorder. Said eating disorder is treated by therapists, but nothing is done to resolve the family issues, and the same son develops a different maladaptive behavior several years later.

                Basically, a psychologist should treat the ‘disease’ or ‘cause’ of maladaptive behaviors, not the symptoms. The idea was something I sort of ‘intuitively’ knew about, but had never had put into words. I’m hoping to get some more direct experience in finding the best way to do that as this internship continues.

In regards to Spanish culture, I think I’ve grown very accustomed to how scheduling works in Madrid. In fact, considering that prior to this I was working until 3:00 AM and sleeping until 12:00 PM, the time zone difference between Spain and the U.S, added with Spains own ‘late sleep late rise’ policy feels more natural. The one thing that sticks out however is the way the city will seemingly die around mid-afternoon. Stores, restaurants, and the like close around lunch time, as a city-wide break of sorts. I really enjoyed walking around the city during this time. Very few people were around, making everything peaceful and quiet. Though I was a little embarrassed when I walked into a grocery store that was closed at the time, to the owner’s annoyance.