Lacey McNeff

Agency: La Frontera

Term: Spring - 2005

Interning at La Fronteras Child and Family Center has provided me with the foundation to be successful in my personal and professional career interests, while most importantly left me with valuable lessons and amazing experiences. I have had the opportunity to work in the Therapeutic Day Treatment with emotionally disturbed preschoolers. The therapeutic preschool works with children that have emotional or behavioral problems through the use of positive discipline. The children are taught to make good choices and take responsibility for their actions. They have routines and activities throughout the day that provide a stable environment, which facilitates positive development and enhances their abilities to learn. I have learned how to help children with emotional and behavioral problems to take control of their actions and interact with others in a positive, caring, and considerate manner.

I have also had the opportunity to work in the Child and Family Centers Growing Together Parenting program. The Growing Together program provides parenting education and support for parents that have children from the ages of birth to 4 years. This program focuses on improving parenting skills, parent-child interactions with their children, and the childs healthy development. I have been able to work directly with the families, finding helpful information for parents and creating activities that promote positive interactions between parent and child, while helping the child to develop in a healthy manner.

I have learned a vast amount of information that I will be able to apply to future careers. Additionally, I have been inspired to continue working with this population. I learned something new everyday while working at La Frontera, whether it was how to calm a child in the middle of a tantrum, or how to help a parent to connect with their child. Most importantly, I learned how to calmly and concisely express my opinions during stressful situations. Every experience has been eye opening and more rewarding than I ever imagined. However, the most rewarding experiences are the little ones; for example, a preschooler that has had difficulty interacting with other children, sharing one of the toys that they are playing with, and a parent who is struggling to make a connection with their child, asking a question and getting a response. These small interactions are huge steps in the right direction and it is amazing to be apart of their development.

La Frontera Center, Inc. offers so many wonderful opportunities for interns to gain experience working in the community. They are committed to helping others and improving the quality of life. For anyone thinking about working in any area of behavioral health services, La Frontera will provide you with great opportunities for interacting with others and expanding your knowledge of different populations.

University of Arizona | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
School of Family and Consumer Sciences | Family Studies and Human Development

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