SLV.Global

“While my placement in Bali was volunteer-based, I gained valuable psychology experience during my one month there. I loved being able to run 1-2 hour mental health-focused sessions alongside other volunteers at one of Indonesia's only psychiatric hospitals, several rehab centers, orphanages, and schools, as well as interacting with the diverse service users from disadvantaged backgrounds, whose lives I was touching in a small way. I got to work with people between the ages of six to over sixty, so that was great exposure for me. Being able to get clinical experience by working with patients in a psychiatric hospital was invaluable to me. I also loved staying in a traditional Balinese homestay with a Hindu family in their beautifully-designed home. They truly made me feel like members of their own family, which helped with the homesickness in the beginning. I also really enjoyed getting to relax after a long week of projects by exploring Bali. I think my confidence really increased by practicing my Indonesian with all the friendly local people! The people with SLV.Bali are also incredibly friendly, compassionate, and accommodating, which aligns with their mission to always promote positive mental health. If you're hit with sudden illness and can't attend a project (which happened to me!), they'll be so understanding and go out of their way to help you. The SLV.Bali staff truly made this experience less stressful.”

“Spending the summer volunteering in Bali was the most amazing experience! During this trip, I was able to confirm my true passion for pursuing a career in Clinical Psychology. While in Bali, not only did I gained hands on experience working with a multitude of populations (i.e. special needs children/adults, geriatrics, adult with mental illness at one of the main government funded mental health facility on the island, at-risk children in children's homes, and adult’s participating in day center programs all over the island), but also data entry from each session we ran, session planning, and the overall pastoral care of each intake of volunteers that came throughout my placement. I loved being able to not only learn from a clinical side by planning, running, and tracking each session we ran; but also from the populations we worked with. It was such a unique experience, being able to draw out each individual's strengths and work together to utilize them in the best possible way.”