Personal Reflections and Insight

  In reflection of this learning plan on my personal life, I’m doing mostly an observation  from my current experiences of being a Peer Support Specialist rather than a perspective of what my  experiences as an interning Substance Abuse Counselor In Training have been.   I am not fully invested and experiencing the many functions, demands and duties of being a SAC-IT; which consists of a 5-day workweek being 8hours a day and sometimes some Saturdays. My learning in this chapter was very associative to my poignant current experiences in my full-time roll at Pathways as a Peer Support Specialist. I’ve had many stressful days as a PSS related to thinking things through and how the effect of my helping role has impacted or affected my Personal Life. This current career field has probably had greater emotional stress on me, compared to any other position or job I’ve had in my entire working adult life. Many days in my current role I’ve felt ineffective, powerless and over...

  I have found this learning plan to be beneficial in helping me to understand the nuances and intricacies of my agency’s system. Studying this learning plan proposed some perspectives to consider which I had previously not given deeper thought to. Gaining a sense of what Pathways To a Better Life is all about has assisted me to “develop adaptive coping strategies” (Corliss & Corliss, 2006, p. 40). What I found very fascinating in this learning plan was applying external and internal analyses using Systems Theory. Applying Systems Theory was very useful to understand interrelationships within the agency and the influence of change on the “system”. Because I am fond of science and how prominently it has been tied into many aspects of our course work, I sharply grasped and understood systems and their functioning as a whole. Much like many different parts of the human body and how they interact and work together to uphold a state of homeostasis. A sense of balance is cru...