Lauren Grizzard interns at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services

Lauren Grizzard is a first-year graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Social Work.  Social work emphasizes the integration of theories of human behavior and practice skills, and as part of the MSW program students are immersed in an internship that allows them to put theory into practice and gain real-life experience in the field.

Grizzard received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia and says that interning at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services (JFBHS) has taught her much about Social Work and herself in a short period of time. "Three years ago," she says, "I saw myself helping others, but did not know what that looked like for me.  JFBHS ignited a passion in me for helping adolescents with histories of abuse, neglect, and trauma." 

While at JFBHS, Grizzard spent time in clinical meetings, participated in therapy sessions and observed treatment team meetings. She shadowed different therapists and witnessed their varying styles and techniques which will greatly help her own professional development.  

Grizzard calls her internship at JFBHS "a humbling, yet incredibly rewarding experience." She grew up in the Emporia/Jarratt area and was familiar with JFBHS, but she confesses that she knew little about the extraordinary work that is done there.   At JFBHS, a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, therapists, residential staff workers, and administrative personnel all join together to meet the residents' needs and build them into strong and healthy individuals.

Grizzard observed that the butterfly logo of JFBHS is a perfect representation of the lessons she learned through her internship. "The residents are the caterpillars that turn into butterflies on their own. JFBHS wraps them in a cocoon of compassion and empathy that helps foster a beautiful transformation...and that is what I will strive for in practice.