Be Authentic! Be Caring!

Founded by Dr. Randy Dellosa, Life Change Recovery Center (LCRC) is a psychiatric facility and rehabilitation center for people suffering from schizophrenia, depression, addiction, and other unmanageable behaviours. It is located at #105 Scout Rallos Street, Brgy. Sacred Heart, Kamuning, Quezon City.

For further information about LCRC, you may contact 415-7964 or 415-6529. You may also visit www.randydellosa.com

 Day 10: January 4, 2010; Monday

Happy New Year sa mga residents!

First duty ko for the year 2010, I came at 2:00 PM na kasi tinanghali na ko ng gising dahil inabot ako ng madaling araw sa paggawa ng unang SLE na gagawin namin para sa theme for that week which is CREATING AUTHENTIC AND CARING RELATIONSHIP. Naabutan ko pa na nagpe-prepare ng letterings for the theme sina Haha and Dana, so what I did was to help Dana put the letterings in the stage. I foung the lettering so cute, because each letter has a hand background. Haha is indeed great with decorations. ^_^

Naabutan namin sa loob ng session hall si Sir Al talking with a resident. Then he asked me bakit ako late then told me na I, or anyone of us, must inform him first whenever we would be late or absent, so he would know.

I remember it was my first time to interact with some of the attendants of LCRC, like Kuya Angel, kasi he was helping us by cutting the masking tape. While doing so, nagkwento siya about sa isang resident na lumabas that time para uminom, kasi we noticed na unlike before, mas may buhay na ngayon yung resident, mas active, hindi tulad ng dati na parang laging nakatulala at walang kabuhay-buhay. 'Tas ayun, nabanggit niya na yung mga yun (yung dati) ay side effects ng mga pinapainom sa kanilang anti-psychotic drug, pero since may iniinom na din silang gamot na nagka-counterbalance ng side effects ng unang gamot, kaya nagkakabuhay na sila ngayon at mas masigla na.

Before the start of the afternoon session, naiwan pa ko sa loob finishing the letterings, iniwan ako nila Sir Al and dana para magmeryenda, since hapon naman na ko dumating baka busog pa daw ako. Huhu.. 'Tas saka naman lumabas yung mga residents from their room. It felt good to see some of them again, kaso onti lang yung natatandaan ko yung name, tapos two residents tried helping me with the letterings, one female and one male. Natutuwa ko sa male resident na yun kasi madalas niya kong i-approach siya din kasi yung unang resident na naka-encounter ko (at siya din yung tinutukoy ni Kuya Angel earlier), while yung female, natatakot ako sa kanya especially nung unang dating niya pero habang pinakikinggan ko sialng mag-usap na dalawa, I noticed that she has a sweet voice and very mahinahon. So I thought, hindi naman siguro siya nakakatakot talaga.

Dahil dalawa lang sila Haha and Dana para sa afternoon session then, sumama na 'ko sa group nila. Para gisingin pa sila from their nap time, I conducted the energizer nun. I think they liked it naman. The energizer was followed by Haha's activity (Line Up) and Dana's activity (Mirroring). Our class had experienced these activities na during our Group Dynamics subject and in Dance Therapy. I remember that we enjoyed these activities so much that i expected na ganun din sila. Sa palagay ko naman nagustuhan ng mga residents yung Line Up, kahit hindi lahat nakasali kasi 5 residents lang per team. Kaso when it came to the mirroring, hindi ata sila masyadong naganahan, hindi kasi nila nasunod yung instruction ni Dana plus nagawa na pala daw nila yun, pero still, it went well.

Maagang natapos yung mga activities nina Haha and Dana kaya nag-isip pa kami ng pang-back up na activity, whether it be an ice breaker or an activity talaga (lagi namin problema yun nung mga nakaraang duty namin kapag afternoon session nila). Then I tried to remember my SLE and then I ended up facilitating a super fun and super active game Caterpillar from my SLE. At first, natatakot pa kong humarap sa kanila at magpa-activity ng ganun, especially nung hindi ko pa ma-instruct ng tama yung game. Buti na lang, na-gets din nila until they were enjoying theirselves na. I would hear shouts from both groups and makikita talaga na naging alert sila. Yehey!

Syempre, hindi mawawala ang processing part after ng activity. Mas kinabahan naman ako dito. Takot nga kong magsalita sa harap ng klase, lalo naman na sa harap nila na hindi ko pa ganun kakilala, minsan kasi makakaramdam ka talaga ng rejection kapag nagdidiscuss na sa harap nila tapos wala ka namang makukuhang response, ganun yung naiisip ko. So before I start with the processing, am did a quick thinking of strategy to make most of them talk. What I did, am asked the residents that played a role in the game, the 2 leaders, the 2 babies and some other members. What I was surprised then was when I was able to make them talk, and most of all, makapag-elicit sila ng mga insights na gusto kong makuha nila from the game. That to be able to create a caring and authentic relationship, it will be helpful to learn to trust, be responsible, to have or provide a safe environment, and that kailangan punan ng bawat isa yung kung ano sa mga values na inenumerate nila ang sa tingin nila ang kulang sa relationship na meron sila.

After ng session na yun, I felt good towards myself and satisfied. Salamat sa mga residents. I see that they are being authentic when sharing their insights with me. ^_^