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Imagine stepping into a correctional facility for the first time\u2014what do you anticipate? Most people imagine a tough, intimidating place. For Bethany Parkinson, this experience was life-changing, but not in the way you might expect.<\/p>\nImagine stepping into a correctional facility for the first time\u2014what do you anticipate? Most people imagine a tough, intimidating place. For Bethany Parkinson, this experience was life-changing, but not in the way you might expect.<\/p>\n
Originally from Northern BC, Bethany\u2019s interest in psychology started in high school when personal circumstances led to her passion for mental health issues. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to join the mental health field,\u201d she says. As she works towards completing her degree, her career goal is clear: to counsel and assess inmates in Canadian correctional facilities.<\/p>\n
For Bethany, the unique practicum designed for Liberal Arts students at the Correctional Service of Canada was transformative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis experience was life-changing,\u201d she shares. \u201cNot in a way that changed my career path, but in a way that confirmed my plans and goals were possible.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In addition to confirming her career goals, Bethany also shared how this experience allowed her to reshape her perspectives about inmates and helped her gain the necessary skills to pursue this career:<\/p>\n
Working in the correctional system is not for the faint of heart, and entering a prison is a great way to see where one stands on the faint-of-heart scale. This practicum gave me that chance; that is why I chose it. The experience taught me many new skills, my favourite being the ability to engage in nonjudgmental and supportive talk with the inmates. When talking to an inmate, I had to keep in mind that they are there for a reason, however, they are still a person and deserve to be respected as such.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Bethany faced several challenges during her practicum, such as overcoming her preconceived notions about prison life and managing her emotional reactions to inmates\u2019 crimes. With the support of her mentors, she found a safe space to express her feelings and ask questions.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenges I faced were overcoming my expectations and my emotional responses. My expectations were a challenge in that I was prepared for the rough, loud, and scary place that the media portrays prisons to be \u2013 this portrayal could not be more wrong. As for my emotional reactions, those became an issue when I heard about certain crimes that people had committed to get into prison \u2013 some affected me more than others. I do feel as though my mentors helped me with both issues as I felt comfortable asking questions and expressing my feelings in the psychologically safe environment they created.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Looking ahead, Bethany plans to complete her BA in Psychology with Honours, pursue a master\u2019s in clinical psychology with a forensic focus, and ultimately complete a PhD while working within Canadian correctional services.<\/p>\n
To future students, Bethany offers some powerful advice:<\/p>\n
Focus on the person, not their situation. When placed in positions of authority, people tend to forget that those who are under them are just as human as they are, and when people are in a situation where the other person is a prisoner, they tend to immediately assume they are superior because they are free, and the other person is not. In this area, that kind of thinking could be detrimental to the healing and rehabilitation of the person they are trying to help.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It’s safe to say that this 21-year-old is well on her way toward realizing her future aspirations!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Imagine stepping into a correctional facility for the first time\u2014what do you anticipate? Most people imagine a tough, intimidating place. For Bethany Parkinson, this experience was life-changing, but not in the way you might expect. Originally from Northern BC, Bethany\u2019s interest in psychology started in high school when personal circumstances led to her passion for … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":236,"featured_media":1624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,187,231],"tags":[220,49,78],"class_list":["post-1623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-topics","category-student","category-student-spotlight","tag-career-development","tag-psychology","tag-student-success"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/236"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1626,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions\/1626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}