Meet Taylor: Children’s Home & Aid Intern Turned Outreach Worker

Taylor Dichsen, a former Children’s Home & Aid intern, enjoyed her experience so much that she joined the team as a part-time Outreach Worker for Youth Services.

Taylor began her Youth Services Internship at Children’s Home & Aid while working towards her Bachelor of Social Work degree. She was initially drawn to the internship because of her interest in crisis intervention. Although this internship was Taylor’s first experience working with a social service agency, it solidified her desire to pursue a career in crisis intervention and fueled her passion to work with children. “My internship at Children’s Home & Aid was the first time I was able to put the skills I learned in school to use,” Taylor says.

Taylor’s internship was made remarkable by the Case Managers with whom she worked alongside. “Each of the Case Managers I worked with had unique styles and strengths for handling clients. They supported me in finding my own personal style and helped me develop different techniques that I’ll take forward in my career,” Taylor says.

Not only did Taylor acquire valuable experience in tweaking her personal intervention styles, but she also learned about the uniqueness of every crisis situation. “The most valuable lesson that I learned during my internship was that no matter what type of trauma a family experiences, it’s all very real to them,” Taylor says. “Each family deserves to be treated with respect and care.”

Taylor advises other interns to not be afraid to make the internship their own. “I was lucky enough to have an amazing supervisor, who gave me the same advice and helped to push me outside of my comfort zone,” Taylor says.

Taylor plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She hopes to become a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma therapy.