Support
This summer at INTRAID, I was doing a mix of community outreach and clinical work. I spent a lot of time in local schools like Unidad Educativa La Paz, Humberto Puerto Carrero, and Monte Sud, running workshops about anxiety, depression, self-harm, and drug dependency. I also went out to rural areas like Carachimayo to talk to parents about substance abuse and had the opportunity to work with teenagers at the OASIS (juvenile penal facility).
Inside the clinic, I got to see how a full team operates. I shadowed doctors during consultations, visited inpatient residents, and sat in on meetings where psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and general doctors discussed diagnoses and treatment plans. I spent time hanging out with patients during occupational therapy, and I also pitched in on the administrative side by digitizing their physical archives to make patient files easier to access.
Because of my major, I wanted to share some of what I’ve been studying. I was a panelist for a presentation on teenage depression in Tarija, spoke at U.E. Jesús de Nazaret, and gave a talk to the clinic's medical staff about alternative therapies like Ayahuasca and Psilocybin. I even got a look at the policy side of things by attending CO.DE.SA.ME. decision-making meetings with local institutions like the Asamblea Legislativa Departamental de Tarija.
By the time I finished up, I put together a guide called "La Neurociencia de la Salud Mental," helped Dr. Moscoso with his research on physical and mental illnesses comorbidity, and helped the staff organize INTRAID’s 38th-anniversary event. Working directly with patients and seeing public health up close definitely changed how I look at health.