To Whom It May Concern:
My experience with having Alena Prikhidko as a supervisor was very pleasant and rewarding. Alena was very helpful in making me feel comfortable in opening up, accepting the process of learning, and in trying to find the most effective techniques and treatments for my clients during my internship at PACE center for girls in both the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters. She validated the emotions I was experiencing, such as frustration from questioning competency and confusion on how to apply techniques effectively, from beginning my journey in applying what I had learned so far throughout the UF Counselor Education program. She was able to make helpful suggestions that provided me with a new perspective, especially with maintaining the focus on a family systems lens, on how to approach certain cases. An example of the help she provided was through role-playing how to implement techniques during a counseling session and to keep consistency. Alena was very respectful and culturally-sensitive. Alena also helped me through some ethical dilemmas I faced throughout my clinical practice. She validated the frustration and anxiety I felt for confronting the ethical dilemma and taking the appropriate steps to reach a conclusion. Through her feedback and validations for my experiences throughout clinical practice, I was able to develop more self-confidence and competency in applying or implementing what we had discussed and what I had learned into clinical practice.
