Internships are, of course, about real world experience – but sometimes they also show how important academic skills are.

“One of the therapists I’m shadowing had a client who was diagnosed with breast cancer,” explained Mount Pleasant senior Taylor Strom, currently interning with Parkside Counseling Services in Adrian. “The therapist asked me to find resources on what patients should take to chemotherapy and how to make an exposure plan for looking at yourself after a double mastectomy.”

“It was really validating to be able to help the therapist support the client and their needs,” Strom said “Overall, my main goal is to just help people, and this internship has allowed me to do just that.”

Strom is spending this summer shadowing therapists who provide individual and group counseling to sexual assault survivors. Along with researching information for therapists to share with clients, Strom has found herself occasionally bringing in expertise she gathered as a student.

This past spring, Strom completed a directed study that evaluated Albion College’s on-campus resources for sexual assault reporting and survivor support. Much of what Strom learned is applicable to assault survivors in Parkside’s programs.

“My honors thesis involves the psychological and sociological impacts of sexual assault, and these groups have allowed me to dig deeper into client’s actual experiences to learn more about that, not what is just in published journals,” she said.

Gaining a better understanding of assault survivors

On the flip side, attending Parkside’s twice-weekly survivor group sessions is broadening Strom’s understanding of sexual assault from a survivor’s perspective.

“Seeing the different stages of healing is interesting and I like being able to support those clients and listen to their stories,” said Strom, who said she plans to write a senior thesis examining the psychological and sociological impacts of sexual assault on survivors. “This internship has let me observe the many ways people with sexual assault history might act or cope with it.”

And while Strom notes that the experience has indeed confirmed her suspicion that she does not want to pursue therapy as a career path, it has sharpened her desire for a career in social work, possibly focused on larger client groups.

“I attend the sexual assault survivor groups and the clients have told me that I connect to them really well and am supportive,” Strom said. “”This made me feel really happy, because that is my overall goal with going to the groups. It makes me feel like I am actually able to become a social worker, because I can connect with clients pretty well.”

A psychological science major with a minor in women’s and gender studies and a concentration in the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service, Taylor Strom also is a member of the Prentiss M. Brown Honors program. She serves as secretary for Psi Chi (psychological science honors fraternity), is a member of Albion’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Committee, and served on Albion’s Active Minds executive board. Strom is the daughter of Scott and Kelli Strom of Mount Pleasant and is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School.