Aziz Bin Ammar had two recent co-op experiences that worked together to offer him a valuable perspective in both learning how a therapist clinic operates and gaining first hand experience working with patients and their families. On these co-ops, he served as Administrative Intern for the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy and as Patient Assistant for the Boston Children’s Hospital.

At the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy (BIP), his role was mostly administrative (scanning, printing, and filling up patient records), although he also had the opportunity to observe both group therapy sessions as well as case presentation meetings. Through this experience, he was able to hear professionals give their ideas about what a counselor should try as well as offer his own ideas.

His role as Patient Assistant at the Boston Children’s Hospital balanced out the areas that the role at BIP lacked, such as offering him the opportunity to gain more first hand experience working with patients. His responsibilities were dynamic, and included working in the resource room which involved keeping track of who comes in, answering the phone to schedule massage appointments for current patients, listening to parent’s talk about what’s on their mind as someone who isn’t a part of their child’s medical team, and assisting with the arts and crafts events going on in the room. This experience taught him a lot about working with different types of people and how to engage in this kind of professional environment.

Overall, these experiences taught him about himself, and gave him the confidence to speak comfortably and engage in professional environments. Both co-ops contributed in giving him a complete experience of learning both about how a therapist clinic operates and working with different types of patients and professionals.