My slogan for the day “Life is an open secret don’t scratch the surface if you are not ready to hear the truth”.
Back in November of 2016, I had no idea my life was about to change in a very insightful and intense way by visiting a prison. It was the first time in my life I had seen real people who had committed a crime. When I saw their faces they seemed innocent. I wondered what each one’s crime was?
There were a lot of questions that I was asking myself. For instance, how do they manage themselves, what are their feelings, can they really cope and develop a strategy to overcome what they are going through. I did not expect to learn new shocking things on my first day, which is exactly what happened. I think the social worker who was showing me around didn’t show me all; neither did I, you never open up your whole life like a story book when you meet someone for the first time. They can just look at the cover page, and maybe read the first couple pages of your life.
I learnt that with prisoners, there are particular ways to deal with them and that we should be cautious. The most important thing that I realised is that this opportunity is not only going to assist me professionally but also personally, as I can improve my interpersonal skills that help me in becoming a productive citizen of society. Having the opportunity to observe a real client taught me that it is vital to keep in mind that observation is not just about meeting people but also carefully watching and trying to understand them in depth. Furthermore, this observation helped me to understand the verbal response more proficiently. It helps a psychologist/social worker to recognise when a client’s body language and speech do not match. Furthermore, attending a session to observe is not an easy chore and as professionals it is very important to learn how to create a mental shield for ourselves to keep these stories from getting to us.
- The reader is an Emirati psychology student
