SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, Lydia. So would you just like to introduce yourself, your name, role, and just what inspired you to join Havenwood? Yeah, for sure. So my name is Lydia and I am our rec specialist here at Havenwood Cedar City. And oh my goodness, a lot of things inspired me to join our crew here. I think the first is that I have personally had struggles with mental health stuff. And so I wanted to be able to reach out to a community in a place that's struggling, especially when I didn't have that kind of support when I was younger. And I've always been interested in a very hands-on job that works with people and is very social. And so this is actually a really good place for me because I get to work with people every day. And I am lucky enough to work with all the different guests. And we do so many fun things in Rec. We are able to do a ton of different activities where anything from skiing and snowboarding to arts and crafts and boat races. That's what we're working on right now. So yeah, I love it here. It's perfect. That's awesome. Okay. So if you can describe Havenwood in one word, um, what would it be and why? I would probably honestly say diverse because not only do we work with a bunch of different demographics and populations, we also do a ton of different activities. And day-to-day is quite different. So diversity and diverse would be my word. That's awesome. Okay. And just moving on to sort of role and calling, what called you to a trauma treatment and what keeps you here? I think again, just going back to the fact that I struggled when I was younger with mental health. And I think it's really neat to be able to put back into the world something good and something that can be sustainable for these girls. And so specifically, Hayden would it's really neat because we get to work with these wonderful guests and get to know them. And I am completely like just a social butterfly. And so it's been really, it's been really nice to develop these relationships and work individually with everybody. What keeps me here is the fact that I really just love my job. I have never experienced the desire to go to work and excitement to be able to just be at work because typically a job is like a job. It's not very fun, it's not very engaging. And I finally found something that's it's really catered to my needs as an individual. And also I feel like I'm putting something good out there. And so I'm excited to see where our guests get in the future. And yeah, I just love it. It's a really cool for full circle moment. 100%. Okay. And so typically, what is a day in your life sort of at Haven Wood look like? Oh my goodness, that is such a loaded question because it changes so much. I would say, let's do this week, for example. On Mondays, I take a day to prep and catch up on any tasks that I have. And that involves right now, we're doing a lot of painting. So we're painting the floor in my office, and we're building a labyrinth outside. So it could be like the mindfulness area. So I'll pick up on some of those projects, work with guests, and it's kind of like uh two birds with one stone because not only are we able to get these things done, but a lot of our guests are actually able to do some service hours because it's for the Hagenwood community. So that's what Mondays are. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I have two groups each day, one house, one with another house. And this week we are working on our boat race. And so that involves putting together a cardboard and duct tape boat so we can float it next week on the lake and have our awesome parents send there as well. And it also involves painting some shirts and decorating those so we can have a team bonding shirt decorating experience. And then on Saturdays, I like to do a specialty outing. And so any girls that I've seen that have been working super hard in Rec and showing improvement, I take them on an outing on Saturdays. And that for this week is going to be a hike to Hidden Haven. I'm working on getting a national parks pass. We can go explore Zion soon and just kind of like the bigger, longer activities. I love it. It's so fun. That's awesome. Oh my goodness. Okay. So, how does your role impact a student's sort of healing or sense of safety? I have a really unique spot in that I get to use therapeutic principles really hands-on and be able to figure out what coping mechanisms work best for different students. So when students first come in, we kind of go through like what leisure activities look like for them and their hobbies are and things of that nature. Because once we can figure that out, or even be able to introduce them to new hobbies and experiences, we're able to teach them this is actually a coping skill that you can use. So, for instance, we have a lot of guests that are really creative here, awesome artists. And they have used painting, drawing, anything of that nature as a coping skill. Sometimes they'll just come up to me and say, Lydia, like, hey, can you pull me for a second? I'm not doing very well right now. Like, I need a break. And I'm like, yeah, let's go to my office. Ideally. I mean, sometimes I have really busy days, but ideally, I'm able to do that and pull them aside and be like, hey, this is something we can work on and kind of take a moment to slow down. And it's been really cool to watch the difference in their demeanor as they come into my office like really frustrated and just, this is what's going on. I'm struggling with XYZ. And then we're able to paint and laugh and listen to music. And they walk out with a very different attitude, very different outlook on life. I feel like not that dramatic each time, but it's those little moments that I think are really helpful for our guests. I totally agree. Okay. And just moving on to sort of the third section. So, what does world class trauma treatment look like in your role? Ooh, this is a fun one. So I think world class comes down to continually improving. So constantly looking for things that can make it more efficient, more beneficial for our guests, more engaging, all of these things, but continually improving them. So for me in this role, it means looking at a past system and being like, okay, I actually need to inventory all of my equipment because we've got a lot of fun things that these girls can use. And I need to inventory that so I can be a quick documentation of where things are. And I need to figure out how we can best rent out these tools to staff so that it can use them for the houses. And world class comes down to just figuring out the way that I can best connect with each of the girls because it really is an individual experience. And I feel like, well, when we're talking about world class, I obviously I'm gonna be compare it to other centers. And because I think world class involves more of that improvement, sometimes other places don't have that time and that energy to be able to work with each individual and custom care to their needs. And so it's been so special to work somewhere where I feel like they truly do value the students' experience and they value the care and they value everything that goes into that. Even the staff, they value what our experiences are like. And I feel like that is very world-class. Awesome. Okay. And so how does your team bring Bruce Perry's six Rs andor trauma-informed care to life? Okay, so I think when we have the six Rs, it comes down to safety and figuring out how we can best motivate. So in this role, we have a lot of safety built on trust, and we're developing programs specifically for the girl. So in rec therapy, we are looking for hey, is this girl kind of struggling trusting her staff? What's something we can do to put her in an experience that's gonna help her be able to work on that? So for instance, rock climbing is a super good one. We can put a girl up on this wall and she's gonna have to trust us that we've got the rope down below and we're gonna catch her if she slips or falls. And putting those trusts in the equipment and the people that are working with you. So trust, another one is repeating behaviors and repeating things that do work for our guests. And so if I know that a girl is really interested in kind of the more like tomboyish things, we can repeat and look for new things that will interest and engage her. So maybe we'll be teaching her a life skill. I really want to take the girls one day to go to a mechanic shop so we can work on cars and figure that out because I have one guest in particular. This could be a really big thing that she could work on and a skill that she can develop over time. And another thing is watching out for the things that they're doing well. I feel like a lot of times in trauma-informed care, we get into a habit of saying, oh, we're back at this behavior again. Like we watched all this progress and now we feel like we're sinking again. And it really is a team effort. It's not just like, hey, this guest is really struggling, and that kind of sucks. It's we as a team, we're struggling with this, and we need to work on how we can figure out the best way to influence this guest. But rewarding the good behaviors, super important when it comes to things that we see these guests doing well. I'm really trying to point out, like, hey, even though you messed up over here, right? It's totally fine. We gotta keep going. We gotta try again. We get to have these opportunities to better our skills and better our reactions to things. And that's been really neat to find those behaviors that are very, very good and notice them and give them that experience. Awesome. Okay, just moving on, what is something intentional that outsiders might never see? Oh, I think the thought that goes into activities based on individuals' needs. So, like I was saying, with figuring out that a guest is really hands-on and really wants to learn how to fix cars and learn how to do any carpentry skills or things like that, saying, Hey, I have this guest that's interested. Let me cater an activity that can benefit these three people, and the rest of the group can still have a good time as well. And so we did a life skills unit probably like two months ago, and I took each house to a different place in town, and I thought about specifically which girls in that house would benefit from seeing a certain type of job. So, like Cedar Fun Center, can you see yourself working at Great Harvest? We had a lot of people interested in baking and food in that house, and so just the individual thought that comes in to planning each activity, I think wouldn't be very seen by outsiders. Okay, awesome. What is one skill or mindset that has helped you grow? Ability to learn. I think I've found over my life that I love learning new things. And so as I was still finishing school, as I was entering this role, I was able to go to classes and learn new things and take courses specifically for my future. So social work, business management, family studies, all of those sorts of classes. And so that's been a skill that I developed and I continue to work on because there's always new things to learn at Haven Ward, and there's always new things, new programs, new technologies that we're using, new systems. And I think the ability to learn and be adaptable and flexible with what comes can be very helpful, especially when it comes to taking accountability for mistakes. I'm not a perfect person. I make mistakes. This is my first time being a rec specialist. There's bound to be things that I'm not gonna do perfect. And so being patient with myself and adaptable, and just saying, hey, we're just gonna learn from this experience. Sure, we messed up. That's okay. We try again. This isn't working for this guest. What are we gonna pivot to? What are we gonna do differently? So yeah, really ability to learn is really important to skill. I totally agree. Okay, and what helps you sort of reset on like any kind of tough days you have? Oh my gosh, this is a quick one. The animal shelter. I love going to the animal shelter and seeing the dogs and the cats there. It's really cool that we have horses on campus and goats. If you come to my office one day, you'll see a picture of me in my graduation cap from this year, walking the three goats on their little leashes. I just love them. That is a perfect reset for me because you can connect with another animal. They're cute, they're fun, they're hilarious. I love feeding the ducks on campus. That's super good little breaks for me, especially when we come out of like an overwhelming situation when a house might have been really struggling. Just taking a second and being like, I'm gonna go feed the ducks. I'm gonna go say hi to them, see how they're doing, and just connecting with the animals here. And I think it's also really therapeutic for the girls. It's been a really good coping mechanism for them as well. The yeah, let's go see the chickens, let's go see how they're doing and take a second, be calm. And yeah, so animals. I completely agree with that. I love that. Okay. Just moving on to section five, sort of like a lightning round. What is your favorite Havenwood tradition or inside joke? For the staff, I've actually loved our cursive parties. Christmas parties have been super fun tradition that we've been doing for I don't know how many years. And then I want to start a tradition here called Travel Night. I did it for the first time this year. I'm hoping it carries on where we explore different countries and have staff come in and talk about their experience in living in different places and eating food from all there. So travel night and Christmas party. Awesome. Okay. And then one more from this category. What is one surprising fact about you? I have been bit by a stingray. I was in Grand Cayman one time with my family, and I was feeding a stingray a little fish or like a little squid thing, and it bit me. It didn't sting me, which I'm grateful for, but it totally bit me. And it was so funny, and I just left. Oh my goodness. I would have been so scared. They're so silly. They are. Okay, and just for the closing reflections, what does quote world-class trauma treatment mean to you? I think for me it really means reflecting about the why for the staff, especially. Because if you get here and you see what's going on every day and you read these girls' notes and you see what they've been through, if you can really think about the why that you're here and the why that they're here and put in that effort to help them grow and succeed, I think that is pretty dang world class. If you can consistently remember these girls have been through so much, we are here to help them and reflect on that. That take yourself out of it. This is not about me. This is about helping other people and helping them succeed and grow to give them a jumpstart. Absolutely. Any message for staff, students, or families? Don't forget about your inner child. A lot of these girls haven't had the opportunity to have a childhood. A lot of these staff haven't had that opportunity, and families in general, they come from hard spots. And so nurture that child. Rec has been super cool to watch people be able to help that child within themselves grow and learn, try new things, go on that trip, go to the animal shelter, go skiing, try a new hobby. Rock climbing might be just for you. So nurture that child that that is curious and wants to explore the world and help that child within you succeed. That is awesome. Yeah, 100%. And just lastly, is there anything exciting on the horizon? Ooh, yes. So we have this house called Breach House, which is for our girls that are like a little closer to re-entering society, what we call the real world in quotation marks. And so these girls have a little bit more freedom and they have a little bit more responsibility to make these bigger decisions and keep themselves safe. With that being said, we want to take them on a camping trip. And so the goal is to be able to get these bridge house girls and the clinical team together so that we can all go on this camping trip and give them an opportunity to practice these skills in real life, give them some new skills. There's a lot of life lessons that can come from camping. And so we're really excited for that. That's definitely on the horizon in the works, hoping for later this summer. Really excited about that. That sounds like it's gonna be really exciting and fun. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Okay, I think that's all the questions. I don't know if you need to give like a closing statement. If you want, you totally can. Okay, let me grab my little notebook. I recently had the opportunity to go to a Utah Recreational Therapy Association conference this year. Super cool for my continuing education. So able to learn more about what being a rec therapist means. And one of the things that stood out to me the most was that a lot of people look at rec therapists as the person that is bringing the fun and not really doing much on the therapeutic side. But I want people to know that that's not true. I want people to know that rec therapists do have all of these back studies on how this can help the brain, how this can help the body. We need to get people moving. We need to get them outside. We need to help them in a safe environment be able to explore and try new things. And so that's my little piece on rec therapists, because I think there's so much to be learned and so much excitement that can be in these fun, so-called activities. And underneath all that, it is so healthy for these people to be able to get outside and put themselves in uncomfortable situations. Cause that can be really hard and it can unlock parts of our brains that can help us heal. And so that's my little clothes. I really like what I do, and I'm so grateful to be here. So thank you.