PSYCHOLOGY PRACTICUM REPORT

Mokaya Vincent
E110/10738/17

PRACTICUM SITE: JOHN MUTUTHO EMPOWERMENT CENTRE

PRACTICUM REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF

PSYCHOLOGY COUNSELLING AND EDFO IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A BACHELOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
DEGREE IN EGERTON UNIVERSITY.

June, 2022

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Table of Contents
Declaration iv
Acronyms v
CHAPTER 1 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background History 1
1.3 JOMEC Organisational Structure 1
1.2.1 Administration department 2
1.2.2 Clinical and counselling department 2
1.2.3 Nursing department 2
1.2.4 Security department 2
1.2.5 Empowerment department 2
1.3 Site Vision, mission and policies 2
CHAPTER 2 3
PRACTICUM ACTIVITIES 3
2.1 Introduction 3
2.2 Morning assembly 3
2.3 Research. 3
2.4. Psychoeducation classes. 3
2.5 Staff-staff meeting/supervision/debriefing. 4
2.6 Psychological testing and Assessments. 4
2.7 Psychological testing and Assessments. 4
2.8 Individual counselling/psychotherapy/Talk therapy. 4
2.9 Group therapy 5
2.10 Family therapy. 5
2.11 Administrative duties. 5
2.12 Extra curriculum: Games. 5
2.13 Creating awareness and program planning. 5
2.2 Description of Skills Acquired 6
2.2.1 Attending and active listening skills 6

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 2.2.2 Silence 6
2.2.3 Reflecting and paraphrasing 6
2.2.4 Clarifying and questions 6
2.2.5 Focusing 6
2.2.6 Rapport building 6
2.2.7 Summarising 6
2.2.8 Immediacy/Congruence 6
2.3 Professional and ethical challenges of Practicum site 7
2.4 Institutional challenges 7
CHAPTER 3: Conclusion and Recommendation 8
3.1 Conclusion 8
3.2 Recommendation 8

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Acronyms

SOAP ‐ SUBJECTIVE, OBJECTIVE, ASSESSMENT, PLAN

SUD ‐SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER
CA ‐COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT
DOC‐ DRUG OF CHOICE
UPR- UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW
JOMEC- JOHN MUTUTHO EMPOWERMENT CENTRE

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 Declaration

STUDENT DECLARATION

I………………………………of Reg. no……………………….hereby declare that this piece of work is fully mine and
it includes all my practicum activities. It has never been presented in any other institution for an
award of degree, diploma or any other examination.

Date -

PRACTICUM COORDINATOR

This field attachment report has been submitted for defences with my approval as the university
practicum supervisor.

Name-

Sign-

Date-

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 CHAPTER 1
1.1 Introduction
There is an increasing need and demand for Professional psychological services to the growing
population. Psychological problems such as the increasing rates of depression, suicides,
indiscipline in schools, drug abuse and substance use and addiction, mental illnesses, family
conflicts, social conflicts, natural disasters, personal problems and interpersonal problems call
for immediate and professional intervention to mitigate them. Professionals trained under this
programme are expected to work in educational institutions, counselling clinics, stress
management centres and employee assistance programme centres, outplacement centres, prisons
and correction centres, mental health institutions and rehabilitation treatment centres.
1.2 Background History
1 JOMEC is a treatment and rehabilitation Centre based in Nakuru County at Mwariki
estate, Nakuru East. It is a Nursing Home established under the Medical Practitioners and
Dentists Act (cap 253) and licensed to operate as a private medical institution.
2 JOMEC opened its doors to the first clients in November 2016 and has since then treated
over 2000 clients with an impressive 58% success rate .It is a nationally, regionally and
internationally renowned treatment and empowerment Centre for persons with Substance Use
Disorder (SUD).
3 It has one of the most comprehensive treatment and counselling program of any
institution in the world; it is also the nation’s largest and the second largest rehabilitation Centre
in Africa as measured by enrolment and structure. Being the second largest in Africa, it is used
as a benchmark facility by other African nations interested in adapting the treatment model.
4 It also has the best professional medical and psychological staffs available in the region,
consisting of a Medical Doctor, Program Director, Psychiatrist, Registered Nurse,
Counsellors/Case Managers and Substance Abuse Technicians all working toward the goal of
helping our clients overcome addictions, in a very caring, professional and respectful
atmosphere.
1.3 JOMEC Organisational Structure
The Rehabilitation has the following structure which is charged with the day to day activities of
the institution.

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1.3.1 Administration department
The Institution is headed by a Director who is also the owner of the Institution. He is followed by
a Managing Director who oversees the activities of various departments in the institution. It also
has two administrators who facilitate the admission and discharge of clients in the institution.
There is a secretary who keeps records of the institution's files and also helps in coordinating
office duties in the institution.
1.3.2 Clinical and counselling department
The counselling Department is headed by the head of department who supervises and oversees
all activities under the counselling department. He assigns clients to counsellors, formulates
Psychoeducational classes’ timetable and officiates the departmental meetings. The head of
department also acts as the link between the administration and the counsellors and also between
the counsellors and the clients.
1.3.3 Nursing department
This department is charged with offering medical services to the clients. It is headed by a
residential doctor.There is the institution's psychiatrist who is consulted on the client's
psychiatric issues. The Institution also has a residential nurse who ensures the clients take their
medication on time.
1.3.4 Catering Department
Mandated with the duty of preparing and serving of meals to all the clients and other staff
members within the facility.
1.3.5 Security department
This department is charged with providing security for the clients and the general staff members.
It is headed by a senior security officer who supervises other junior security guards. It handles
cases such as sneaking, tracking contraband and accompanying clients and counsellors whenever
they go out.
1.3.6 Empowerment department
It is headed by a Social worker who ensures that the client’s needs are met while they are within
the facility. They conduct team building activities such as football, promoting talents through
dancing among the clients .Within the department there is a records section where all the
documents are kept for the organisation.
1.4 Site Vision, Mission, core values and policies
1.4.1 Vision: To be the centre of choice for treatment of personswith substance use disorder.

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1.4.2 Mission: To empower and provide holistic treatment to persons with substance use
disorder.
1.4.3 Core values: integrity, empathy, respect professionalism and Acknowledgement of
addiction as a diseases, timely and quality provision of services to clients.
1.4.4 Jomec policies:
1. Admission policy and procedure
2. Pharmacotherapy and medical care procedures
3. Detoxification policies and procedures
4. Discharge, re- admission and continuing care policy
5. Referral policy and procedure
6. Special population policy
7. Documentation, monitoring and evaluation policy
8. Individual treatment plan
9. Administrative and clinical supervision
10. Confidentiality rules and regulation
11. Clients rights and responsibilities
12. Disciplinary suspension or expulsion
13. Continuous aftercare policy procedures
14. Community outreach, prevention and early intervention policies and procedures
15. Kitchen and food storage policy
16. Fire and safety policy
17. Occupational safety and healthy policy
18. Procedure for treatment centre management
19. Human resource policy
20. Financial management and planning policy
21. Board meeting attendance
22. Quality assurance policy

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 CHAPTER 2

PRACTICUM ACTIVITIES
2.1 Introduction
John Mututho Empowerment Centre (JOMEC) operates on a structured routine that should be
adhered to. Activities throughout the day are clearly outlined and should be followed to the later.
The purpose of rehabilitation is to help clients regain a sense of structure that had been lost
during addiction and mental illness. Therefore, unless on special occasions like seminars and
training, national holidays, special celebrations, the daily activities of John Mututho
Empowerment Centre are similar from Monday to Sunday. The activities of the day are
explained as below;
2.2 Morning assembly
Morning assemblies are scheduled on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays as from 8:30am to
9:30am and any other day and time in case of an emergency announcement or tension among
clients creating need to be addressed. The morning assembly is coordinated by the client's
chairperson who leads through the assembly by the help of the counsellor on duty, in the
presence of an administrator who is supposed to respond to the clients concerns and the entire
staff. The counsellor on duty is tasked with the responsibility of responding to any concerns aired
towards the department of counselling, give some motivational talks or quotes, remind clients of
daily activities and encourage them to attend the psycho-education classes. During my practicum
period I was on duty on Fridays so I was tasked with the above responsibilities.
2.3 Research.
To facilitate the psycho-education classes required one to dig deep into books, internet other
relevant materials to equip oneself with the necessary knowledge. Most of the clients were
seemed intellectually knowledgeable. Most of them had good professions i.e. doctors, engineers,
accountants and policer officers etc.
2.4. Psychoeducation classes.
They are held from Monday to Thursday. Each day has two class sessions from 9:30 to10:30
and the other one from 11:30-12:30. The psycho-education classes are grouped into three classes
known as "kikao”. Kikao A which is meant for clients who have been to the institution from
week one or through to week four (Kikao A-week 1-4) Kikao B meant for clients who been to

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the institution from week five to week eight and Kikao C for those who been to the institution
from week nine to week twelve and also relapses from the institution. Each kikao has a
stipulated timetable on topics to be covered each day within the four weeks. In this psycho-
education classes I was able to facilitate some topics for instance; the healing power of
forgiveness in recovery, relationship and recovery, values inventory, empowerment classes under
creativity and innovation, critical thinking, HIV/Aids, An overview of the Naltrexone implant
which was done by the entire counselling department, interpersonal relationships, Personality
and disorders, relapse justification, Self-awareness, steps of alcoholic anonymous
(AA),motivation to recovery, bumpy road to recovery and barriers to change.
2.5 Staff- meeting/supervision/debriefing.
This was scheduled to happen on Thursday at 8:00- 9-30 or Fridays after morning assembly
from 9:30-11:30. The meetings were aimed at sharing experiences throughout the week,
challenges experienced, general feeling of each staff member after a week of ups and downs with
clients. The head of department could then inspect files to check our progress and offer guidance
where needed.
2.6 Psychological testing and Assessments.
One of the tools used during admissions and any other day during individual and group sessions is the
mental status examination. This is used to assess client’s general functioning. The ASSIST (alcohol,
smoking and substance involvement screening test) is an easy-to-use tool that detects substance use and
related problems. It has eight questions. This helps determine the kind of assistance the client needs.
Comprehensive assessment is a process where all functional aspects are assessed; Such as legal, family,
psychiatric history etc.
2.7 Individual counselling/psychotherapy/Talk therapy.
This was scheduled to happen in the afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. on Mondays to Thursdays.
Individual counselling sessions took about 45 minutes to one hour. The frequency and duration
of therapy depended largely on the client. During the counselling sessions, underlying issues
such as depression, anxiety, and grief after loss, marriage and relationship challenges, parenting
problems, school difficulties, anger issues, peer pressure, job related problems and career matters
and also double addiction were presented. These issues had to be dealt with before embarking on
the issue at hand of substance use disorder.
The goal of psychotherapy is to talk through mental health concerns and help clients heal, grow,
and move toward more productive, psychologically healthy lives. Good therapy is client-driven,

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and specific goals for therapy will be determined by the client and the therapist. In this case
cognitive behavioural therapies are most effective while dealing with this group incorporated
with other therapies holistically.
2.8 Group therapy
Group therapy was held on Fridays at 2:00 -4:00 pm aimed at helping clients to share their
insights, challenges and journey to recovery. It Provides clients with the opportunity to connect
with others in a safe, confidential and supportive space. It allowed clients to share about their
experiences with others who can understand and relate to their concerns, connect across
differences to learn new perspectives, and experiment with new ideas, behaviours and ways of
being or interacting. Through group engagement, clients develop insights and skills that can be
used to work through the challenges they face and improve their quality of life.
2.9 Family therapy.
Family therapy is a session where the client’s family holds a session with the client and a
counsellor to help them solve problems that could have contributed to addiction. Recommended
after a month, the fifth week of the clients In residential. Psychoeducation to the family about
addiction being a diseases like any other Is done. They are enocouraged to change their
perspective about addiction and avoid negative societal view which in most cases Leads to
stigmatization and discrimination of addicts. The family therapies also provided a room for
reconciliation and members asking for forgiveness from each other.
2.10 Administrative duties.
This involved taking clients out for activities that could not be carried out within the rehab. This
included hospital, banking and shopping (for only things which one can't send anyone).
2.10 Extracurricular activities; yoga, morning meditation, physical exercises and
Games.
This involved passive and active participation. While participating I was able to observe how clients
behaved in their natural environment. One of the behaviours observed was that out door activities pre-
occupied the clients and seemed very happy during the activities.
2.13 Creating awareness and program planning.
The two came in when there were visitors coming in for benchmarking in the institution. The
counselling department was tasked with the duty of planning the program for the day and
facilitating the whole event. Creating awareness entailed also some form of psycho-educating the
visitors about addiction and the whole process of rehabilitating the clients.

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2.2 Description of Skills Acquired
2.2.1 Attending and active listening skills
As an addiction counsellor I learned while attending to the substance and alcohol clients I needed
to be there with them physically, psychologically and emotionally. Learned to give my full
attention to what the client was saying or doing, valuing them as worthy individuals.
2.2.2 Silence
I learned to be silent while listening actively during the sessions and give the client ample time to
express their thoughts, feelings and view without interruption.
2.2.3 Reflecting and paraphrasing
I learned the reflecting art of listening to the client’s story and experiencing it. It gave me and
deeper understanding of clients' underlying and presenting issues. In addition I learned to
paraphrase the client’s story without altering or changing its meaning in regard to their addiction
problems.
2.2.4 Clarifying and questions
Without consistent and great interest in clients experience I needed to ask open ended questions
where necessary in order to clarify and understand what client was trying to voice out.
2.2.5 Focusing
Apart from being attentive and listening actively it was necessary that I make objective decisions
about the clients issues which he/she needs to deal with. It helped me to filter the many issues the
client’s presents so as to focus on the central issue of concern.
2.2.6 Rapport building
During the professional and therapeutic interaction with the client I developed a sense of
connection with the clients I was handling.
2.2.7 Summarising
Acquired the skills of summing up the main themes of emerging issues of the client.
2.2.8 Immediacy/Congruence
I learned to be realistic and genuine about my feelings in response to the clients' issues. Also to
deal with issues that required immediate intervention.
According to Feltham and Dryden (1993: 88), immediacy is ‘the key skill of focusing attention
on the here and now relationship of counsellor and client with helpful timing, in order to
challenge defensiveness and/or heighten awareness’.

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2.3 Professional and ethical challenges of Practicum site
● Difficulty to observe strict confidentiality at all times.

● The challenge to Use UPR to offer humane and non-judgmental attitudes towards clients.

● Luck of Good and adequate preparation in advance with all the documents and materials.

● Clients who were brought in without their will refused to consent for a counselling

session.
2.4 Institutional challenges
● Tasks are not well defined among different departments.

● Poor Orientation which results to confusion.

● Persistent and consistent Interpersonal conflicts between base supervisor and the

administrator; Causing commotion, chaos, confusion, indiscipline and lack of work etiquette

● Poor management causing chaos, indiscipline between staff and clients. E.g clients

jumping over the fences over night to consume doc and staff conspiring with clients to bring
contrabands in the facility and employment of untrained security personnel thus causing physical
harm to clients who are caught violating facility rules.e.g jumping over the fence.

● Poor supervision from the base supervisor. I.e unable to control personal affairs which he

seems to project to trainee counsellors.

● Inadequate in house counsellors thus predisposing supervisees/ trainee counsellors to

direct hardship of the institution. For instance direct contact with the client with no directions or
guidelines of what to do during the first sitting/seasion, and the sitting positions. No supervisee
shadowing.

● Inadquate support from the institution in handling client's issues that are beyond

supervisees capacity

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 CHAPTER 3: Conclusion and Recommendation
3.1 Conclusion
During my practicum period in the general counselling department, I realised that there is a
problem by clients and Guardians in understanding the whole concept of counselling and what is
expected of them during the therapy sessions. It is important to note that intrinsic motivation is
an important personal attribute towards any change or any recovery process from addiction or
mental problems. With proper counselling services to clients with inner hope, a positive attitude
of achieving change recovery process becomes easier for them.
The practicum gave me a larger platform to learn and put into practice psychological knowledge
in dealing with clients with addiction problems. My interaction with the clients sharpened my
skills of patience, empathy, active listening among many others including the specific ones
discussed above. I was able to maintain a professional relationship with the clients, staff and the
surrounding community.
With the growing world in various career fields this has led to increasing psychological/mental
health issues which hinders human beings from living a fulfilling life and exploiting their
potential to the maximum. Psychologists are therefore, needed to help people develop effective
and appropriate coping mechanisms to help handle these pressures of life.
3.2 Recommendation
1. The school should educate learners on the log- in sheet on what they were expected to do or
record. Especially on the skills learnt
2. Schools should be able to ensure that learners go for personal therapy before the practicum.
3. The school should provide insights about attachment sites to minimize time waste searching and
sometimes landing on sites which maybe less impacting on learners field experience.
4. Voluntary admission of clients should be encouraged because healing starts with intrinsic
motivation and counselling services are offered to voluntary clients
5. Tasks in Jomec should be well defined to avoid conflicts within different departments
6. Counsellors should not be the immediate care givers to the clients since this breaks the client
counsellor boundaries.
7. The entire staff should be trained with the basic knowledge on handling clients limiting the
chances of either the other staff or clients feeling intimidated.

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American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of
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American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Alcohol use disorders. In Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). opioid use disorders. In Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.
John mututho Empowerment centre. 2022 may
8th.https://www.google.com/search?q=john+mututho+empowerment+centre:
http://jomec.co.ke.
Abrams, D. B., Herzog, T. A., Emmons, K. M., & Linnan, L. (2000). Stages of

change versus addiction: A replication and extension. Nicotine and Tobacco

Research, 2(3), 223–229Abrams, D. B., Herzog, T. A., Emmons, K. M., &

Linnan, L. (2000). Stages of

change versus addiction: A replication and extension. Nicotine and Tobacco

Research, 2(3), 223–229

Alcoholics Anonymous. (1952). Twelve steps and twelve traditions. New York:

Author.

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