Does anyone have info?
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I don't have the info you are looking for but wanted to congratulate you on chosing this field. My husband works in the mental health field, he is a Psych Tech and he loves his work. He meets some very interesting people and most just want someone to tell them that they are okay. Good luck to you in your career!
There are a lot of opportunities out there in this area and I would encourage you to explore it further. I have worked with kids for the past ten years or so and have bounced around among various age groups that I have worked with, from preschool through adolescents and even a few young adults here and there. The lowdown on it coming from someone who has done it for a while is that it is absolutely the most fulfilling work you can do in my opinion. At the same time, however, it can be the most demanding and exhausting. Sometimes what you do seems to go unappreciated, however it is that one out of ten (in some cases it feels like one in fifty) that you can get through to in some way that will make all the difference.
I did some work with autistic teens in a group home while I was working on my MA in counseling. Great kids, although extremely challenging behaviors I had to deal with at the same time. Most of the ones I worked with were Aspergers which is a higher level of functioning than what we typically see in autism. These kids were very outgoing and friendly and did not seem to have cares about getting caught up in the typical teenage stuff of what to wear, who was going to sit with me at lunch, and so on. Most of them were highly intelligent but often became fixated on something which is very typical of Asperger's disorder. It could sometimes be something really unusual, such as fans, greeting cards, etc. Once they got on the subject of their choice, it was very difficult to re-direct them to something else. Can you imagine talking to someone about the intricate differences between an oscillating, ceiling, floor, pedestal, and oh, exhaust fan for three hours? Then there was the difference between how fast the fan spun on medium speed on a Holmes fan versus on a Lasko fan..Sometimes I wanted to pull my hair out but at the same time I knew that they were getting the acceptance and satisfaction from me being there to listen.
If possible, I would strongly encourage doing some volunteer work in the field. Check out local organizations and see if they can use someone for an hour or 2 a week. Tell them you are considering going into the field. This will give you a taste of what you are getting into and then you will know if you like it or not. Good luck.
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