Olivia Smalls

Background

About Olivia Smalls

During my senior year at Christopher Newport University, I had the opportunity to complete my field placement at Pyramid Healthcare Inpatient substance abuse facility located in Newport News. It has been the most rewarding experience as well as an amazing learning opportunity to figure out what I would like to do in the future when it comes to my career in social work. I’ve always believed that my purpose is not only to give and help others but to make others feel loved and important no matter where they come from or what they’ve been through. Being a substance abuse counselor intern at this facility has shown me how I can exercise my morals and values while doing something that I love. The feeling of connecting with clients who have been through traumatic experiences that have led them to cope with substances, and allowing them to feel seen and heard in a safe space is a main goal that I desire to provide for my clients in the future in my career. In addition, I long to remain in the clinical field of social work throughout my career, I believe it gives me the ability to interact with clients in a group setting but also one-on-one. My end career goal within the field of social work is to open my inpatient substance abuse facility while still having the opportunity to work as a counselor for patients staying in the facility. I want to be able to educate patients on the stages of change, Maslow's hierarchy of needs, boundaries, communication, and any other strategies and skills that can help them on their journey of recovery. Being able to provide not only a facility but a respectful staff, and secure environment for the patients is the end goal for my career in social work. To be able to accomplish this goal while being a social worker I would consider my career successful and feel as if I have positively impacted others.