Jennifer Lindsay, Intern at Appleseed

Jennifer Lindsay is an intern at Appleseed Community Mental Health Center.

Tell us a little bit about your internship placement.

For my social work internship, I have been placed at Appleseed Community Mental Health Center. It’s a not-for-profit mental health agency in Ashland that provides many different services like counseling, case management, pharmacological management services, school liaison services in the local schools, housing programs, rape crisis and domestic violence services and programs, and a crisis hotline. 

What are your job duties at your internship?  What sorts of activities have you been involved in?

Through my internship, I have had a variety of different duties on the youth side of Appleseed. Three days a week, I spend time doing case management (CPST). I currently have my own caseload of clients who I have been working with on a weekly basis. CPST services are provided to children who attend Appleseed and are having problems behaviorally, emotionally, or socially. These problems may occur at home, school, or in the community. CPST services vary from client to client, but services are always geared toward whatever will benefit and support the client and his or her family. I have also spent two days a week as a part of the school liaison piece of Appleseed. I spend two days in local schools working with students in the school setting and helping them alleviate barriers to their education, discuss things that are going on at home which may be affecting them in school, and assist students in some basic social skills and everyday needs.

How has Ashland University’s Social Work Program prepared you for your internship?

I feel like the Social Work Program at Ashland University has prepared me in countless ways for my internship, and my future as a social worker. All of the behavioral classes have given me a greater understanding for the needs that my clients have. Furthermore, I feel as though I was very well prepared through all of my classes in the Social Work Program to enter my internship. Learning things like human behavior, professionalism in the field, confidentiality, how to build a positive working relationship with clients, and social work competencies and ethics has been instrumental in guiding my behavior and conduct in my internship. I am so thankful for the ways that Ashland University’s Social Work Program not only prepared me for my internship, but also my future career.

What have you enjoyed most about your internship so far?

Throughout my internship, I have really loved building relationships with clients so that I can have a positive working relationship with them. It’s not always easy, but I really love getting to know my clients so that I can best serve them. It has been awesome getting to see their strengths and figuring out how to help them use those strengths. I have worked with some clients for long enough that I have been able to see the positive changes that they are making in their own lives, and that is extremely rewarding.

For more information about Appleseed Community Mental Health Center, please visit their website.

For more information about Ashland University’s Social Work Program, please visit their website.