1. RUNNING HEAD: FIELD EXPERIENCE 1
Field Experience
Caberon Curry
University of Northern Colorado

2. FIELD EXPERIENCE 2
Field Experience
In this essay I will be discussing my reactions and my application of all my psychology
studies to my field experience with The Colorado Division of Youth Corrections (DYC). I will
start on what the five core values of the DYC and Colorado Department of Human Services are
and how they relate to psychological principals in almost every psychology course. After that I
will talk about the five different trainings I got certificates for participating in and how these
relate to social psychology, abnormal psychology, psychology of prejudice, and psychology of
the law. I will then discuss a technique used by those in the DYC, specifically the Client
Managers I shadowed, called Motivational Interviewing, and how it relates to motivation and
different types of psychology. Finally I will talk about the people I met through this internship
and how they impacted my life, and to be very specific one person Dr. Kevin Powell who gave
me direction in my life. I will wrap up going over thoughts and ideas for future students that
could benefit from the field experience with the DYC.
In the Division of Youth Corrections, they have five core values for the employees, then
they have five key strategies to use in the field. The values are as follows, 1) speak and act with
Integrity, 2) Treat youth, family, and each other with Respect, 3) demonstrate Trust, 4) reflect
personal Accountability, 5) pursue Excellence. These represent part of Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs as stated in every psychology class like motivation and introduction to psychology.
According to Maslow, beyond your basic needs like water and shelter that one needs safety, love,
esteem, and self-actualization. The connections between the five core values and five key
strategies and Maslow fit nicely together. The first four of the five core values fit into the safety
and esteem levels. Safety is the security of body, employment, resources, morality, family,
health, and property. Esteem is looking at self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of

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others and respect by others. Looking at just these two levels of Maslow, we can see where the
five core values and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs mesh together.
The fifth core value lines up with the highest level of Maslow’s needs, which is, self-
actualization. In order for one to pursue excellence one must use parts of morality, creativity,
spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts. This is what self-
actualization is, a realization of what the world is like and how one impacts the world around
them. This leads into the statement of DYC five key strategies which states, “The right services
at the right time delivered by quality staff using proven practices in safe environments embracing
restorative community justice principles.” Maslow may not have seen how far his theory would
reach, but it is the foundation of the Department of Human Services here in Colorado.
During my 15 weeks interning with DYC, I was able to gain valuable training and insight
into the criminal justice field. I have 5 certificates of training, and a day spent teaching each
other about how to be stress free in this stressful job, and how the client managers work with
these youth and families through motivational interviewing.
On February 6th, I was able to be trained in Gender Specific Resource Showcase, where
during a four hour time period I heard from a spokesman from Beyond the Mirror Center for
Counseling and Wellness, and the nursing supervisor and program manager for Nurse-Family
Partnership. During this training I was told about eating disorders and how our youth deal with it,
and how it can cause other violent mental illnesses. In abnormal psychology we learned about all
the different types of major disorders from mood disorders, stress disorders, personality
disorders, and anxiety disorders. Eating disorders can be brought on by stress or anxiety, which
could cause other stress or anxiety related disorders. This can snowball into mood disorders. One
thing that the training taught me was that if we fix the eating disorder or address it first, then the

4. FIELD EXPERIENCE 4
rest will go away or have a better chance of going away. Nurse-Family Partnership talked about
teen moms and how they are there to aid the new parents with the stress of raising a new born.
They will work with a young parent before the baby is born up to two years after her birth. This
relates to psychology by helping in child development, giving the child the maximum amount of
educational aid that it can have. This would allow for the greatest chance for the child to be
intelligent and have a secure attachment. Secure attachment is where the child would be loved
but still be independent at every stage of development.
Then on February 13th, I got the privilege to be trained in Native American Cultural
Awareness Showcase where I heard from Ricky Gray Grass-Oglala who is a spiritual and
community leader. He spoke about his experiences and how he uses motivational interviewing in
the teepee for a spiritual cleansing. Motivational Interviewing has basic skills of open questions,
affirmations, reflections, and summaries. This is what Ricky was talking about when he worked
with Native American youth. He and all those working with youth use MI to get the best results
out of treatment for the youth. Not only do the providers use MI but so do the client managers
and everyone in the DYC. It is essential for DYC to connect with the youth and families in the
most optimal way, and motivational interviewing is the best way to make the youth and the
family feel that they are a part of their own treatment and restorative justice in the community. I
also heard from An American Indian Art Therapist, and the Native American cultural Center at
CSU, those brought awareness to what options are available to our tribal and Native American
youth that would not go against religious beliefs.
On February 18th, I got two certificates one for Regional Suicide Awareness and
Prevention and the other for Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). We went through the new
laws, assessments, and guidelines to prevent, see, and treat those that have suicide in their case.

5. FIELD EXPERIENCE 5
This is discussed in human growth and development, abnormal psychology, and introduction to
psychology. It is common knowledge that suicide prevention is a top priority for a psychologist
and the assessments used help determine what level of watch is needed. The laws are constantly
changing and new definitions are being updated. As for the PREA training, which is just going
through what it is and how we can recognize it in our youth corrections facilities, fits with
psychology and the Law. This goes into what police officers, corrections officers, probation
officers, and staff have to be aware of in order to protect the youth from all potential harm.
Then on April 24th I was able to get training for; Making a Change: Bringing out the
Victim’s Voice, during weld county victim’s right’s week. During this training I was able to hear
from Mothers Against Drunk Driving and survivors of tragedy. I was also able to hear about the
new laws brought in because of those victims that felt they had no rights in the legal system. This
also relates to the Psychology and the Law, by showing how important it is to have those victims
of crimes allowed to be protected. Psychology and the Law, looks at the role of psychologists in
the criminal justice field, who would know better to determine what one needs then a
psychologist. We would be able to look at the victims from a third party stance and determine the
damage done and what would be best in compensatory or punitive damage award if it ever went
to trial. The crime would be looked at from every perspective to determine who is at fault and
who the victim is in the criminal act. Victims need a voice and they got one when a new law was
passed just recently to give them a legal voice.
The last thing I want to talk about is the day I spent with the DYC learning about how
those working as client managers and supervisors can midegate the trauma they deal with on a
daily basis. The term they coined was Sanctuary, which contained 7 principles; 1) Non-violence
which means build and model safety skills, 2)Emotional Intelligence which means teach and

6. FIELD EXPERIENCE 6
model management skills, 3) Inquiry and Social Learning which means build and model
cognitive skills, 4) Democracy which means create and model civic skills of self-control, self-
discipline, and administration of healthy authority, 5) Open Communication which means
overcome barriers to healthy communication, reduce acting-out, enhance self-protective and self-
correcting skills, teach healthy boundaries, 6) Social Responsibility which means rebuild social
connection skills, and establish healthy attachment relationships, 7) Growth and Change which
means restore hope, meaning, and purpose. These principles help foster a stress free environment
and can reduce trauma that occurs on this job. Psychology states that we must take care of
ourselves in order to do any good. It goes back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and social
psychology, when we feel good about ourselves we can make others feel good about us as well
as themselves. They also use the word S.E.L.F which stands for Safety, Emotion Management,
Loss, and Future, these fit into Maslow’s Safety level and Love/relationship level. Sanctuary is a
company-wide blueprint to change the culture and take care of each other.
Now I will talk about the people I met during my time interning with the DYC. I met
staff at secure facilities, staff at staff secure and staff at community facilities, I met people who
work with the DYC like providers, and people that do similar jobs in the industry of human
services through the government. I was able to speak with Behavior Health Specialists and what
they do in the facilities, they told me that they work with the youth in treatment and provide a
place the youth can feel comfortable talking about their addictions and ways to overcome them. I
spoke with security officers and teachers at these facilities, I learned that their job is hard to do
because they have to have 24/7 interaction with these youth. They get the brunt of the trauma,
and have to deal with it. How psychology fits here is social psychology and psychology of
prejudice, it’s the proximity affect, the staff and the youth get along better when they spend more

7. FIELD EXPERIENCE 7
time with each other on a daily basis, but when there are youth that are different they are put in
the outgroup and discriminated against. I was able to sit down and speak with Senate Bill 94
employees, who worked with the state to determine laws that would benefit the youth and
families and serve them the best possible way, including social services and DYC. They use
assessments just like the DYC uses to determine where the youth needs to go and what
treatments are best suited for the youth. I was able to get a tour of Alternative Homes for Youth,
and learn what these providers are doing for the youth. I saw how some of the providers are
giving the youth real life skills that will help them be a contributing member of society when
they get out of the system. Then there was SAFY, Specialized Activities for Family and Youth,
who mentor, coach, treat, and be there for the DYC and Social Services youth.
Finally I was privileged to sit down with Dr. Kevin Powell, the psychologist and director
at Platte Valley Youth Services Center, he gave me a direction in my life for a potential career.
Dr. Powell shared with me what he built for PVYSC as the four foundational pillars for effective
services; these pillars are Relationship-Based, Strengths-Based, Skills-Based, and Holistic. A
relationship based idea highlights the importance of establishing and maintaining positive
relationships with youth and families. Many journal articles have been published in psychology
journals linking positive relationships with youth and providers and positive outcomes. A
strength based idea focuses on the identification, creation, and reinforcement of strengths and
resources within individuals, their family, and their community. A skills based idea assists youth
in building capacity to function effectively in areas which they have struggled in the past. A
holistic idea understands the need to treat the whole person not just the symptoms (Powell Aug
2013). We spoke about many things including what he did to build these different approaches,
what these pillars mean to him and what I can take away from his research. I talked to him about

8. FIELD EXPERIENCE 8
who I am, and what I liked, basically a mini psychological profile on my personality. We
discussed what he did during his time right out of school and the similarities between him and I.
I told him how I broke down businesses in my head to make them better and how I enjoyed the
business side of things. He suggested that I look into industrial organizational psychology, to see
if I would like that kind of work. I went home and looked into it and figured out that, it would be
a good place for me to go into. I then looked for a school that would allow me to get my masters
in I/O psychology, and found one school that I would be willing to go to. I have decided to go to
graduate school to get my masters in I/O psychology because of him. He taught me to go for my
dream and don’t forget to keep my values and morals when it comes to psychology.
In conclusion, my experience could not have gone any better. I enjoyed the fact that my
intern supervisor encouraged me to meet with all the providers, get the training, sit in with
regional meetings, see how the process works for new youth to the DYC, and go to new places. I
would not change anything about this internship, but would ask that those who do it take full
days to go do the internship. It would have been very difficult if I had not been able to go full 8
hour days during the week, and I would have been stuck in the office doing office work and not
meeting and seeing the process of the DYC Client managers. I would not have been able to go to
visit the new towns, cities, and facilities if I had a limited number of hours in any given day. I
encourage those in psychology, sociology, and criminology to look into interning with the
Division of Youth Corrections, because you will get a good idea of our Juvenile Judicial System
and how the youth are treated within that system. You will see laws being enforced and changed
to protect the youth, their families, and service providers. I enjoyed my training and will use it in
the future, so that I can be a better human being. My experience was eye opening and without it I
would have never been able to meet such influential people and get a solid direction for my life

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and career. I am moving on to great things because of this internship, will continue to talk with
and possibly work with the people I met, and worked with.
References
Powell, Dr. Kevin. Foundational Pillars for Effective Services. Platte Valley Youth Services
Center. August 2013, Wednesday April 15 2015.