Graduating with Purpose: The Success of the Professional Learning Series
teamOn July 18, 2024, Light for All launched an initiative called the Professional Learning Series, designed to keep psychologists and social workers updated on the latest research, theories, and practices. This program provided practical tools to enhance client care, reinforced ethical standards, encouraged self-reflection, supported professional development, and helped participants fulfill their continuing education requirements. By fostering collaboration and addressing emerging challenges, the program ensured that practitioners were well-prepared to meet client needs effectively.
The Professional Learning Series combined theoretical (online) and practical (face-to-face) components. The theoretical portion covered these key topics: listening, family & family therapy, need for supervision, group and peer supervision, self-care, crisis and well-being, boundaries in counselling, and emotional resilience. In the practical component, participants were divided into three groups based on a community needs analysis:
- Committee on Livelihood
- Committee on Education
- Committee on Health
After months of learning and applying their knowledge, the participants celebrated their success at a graduation ceremony held on December 1, 2024, at the Verjandel Hotel. The event was graced by Fr. Abanoub Attalla, a lecturer in the program, who holds a Doctorate of Ministry and serves as a Board Member of St. Athanasius College in Australia. The other lecturers—Dr. Samir Ibrahim, Hannan Amin, and Sylvia Saad—sent their heartfelt congratulations and regards from Australia.
The Professional Learning Series stands as a testament to Light for All’s commitment to empowering professionals and enhancing the quality of care provided to communities.
Voices of Sucess:
“Joining the training and the advocacy work was an enriching experience for me. The lecture series was a good review for me, and especially appreciate learning about peer supervision. Interacting with parents was meaningful to me as this is part of my mental health advocacy – helping the parents is also helps their children. Meeting new people (from LfA, my fellow volunteers, and especially my committee mates) is a pleasurable experience. I appreciate also the training workshop on preparing project case notes.
Every new experience and interaction is enriching. I am thankful I had this experience of learning, meeting people, and serving. As always, I will continue to serve and contribute as my time allows.” – Eric Dimar
“Taking part in the Light for All-Professional Learning Series widens my perspectives, particularly in engaging with individuals with brilliant ideas for overseeing and carrying the course plan. It is a great experience being with the professional psychologists and social workers. As well as engaging with the community that has driven my eagerness to strive more for self-development so that I can give back. Being with the community for a short span of time, I came to the realization in order to be able to assist, I should first work on myself because it is difficult to get involved in the community problem when I am not fully equipped. Despite I am a new in the field of the social work profession and have nothing much to contribute, yet I did not feel any intimidation. I have no regrets about spending my time and effort because I am learning and practicing the art of letting out of my shell and slowly transitioning to the profession I was aiming for back then.
To the entire LFA administration, I’m glad you organized this type of learning session; it is helpful for my professional growth. I gained a lot of knowledge.
To all the committee members, I want to express my gratitude to each and every committee member for being a wonderful person with district professional traits that I hope to emulate in the future.
Salamat kaayo.” – Roselyn Serenio
“I am deeply honored and absolutely thrilled to have been part of the LFA series! The online sessions were an amazing opportunity to immerse myself in the concept of family systems therapy, where we explored key aspects like boundaries, self-care, and supervision. It was a truly eye-opening learning experience.
Then came the practical sessions and being part of the Livelihood Committee brought a mixed of excitement, curiosity, and yes, a touch of nervousness, especially since it was my first time diving into community work. But it was a rewarding experience for me!
I’m beyond grateful for my amazing teammates. Despite the challenges we faced, we tackled them head-on, grew together, and ultimately completed our journey—not just successfully, but, I believe, with flying colors! 😉 ” – Precious Gail Sta. Isabel
“Being part of the 1st batch of LFA, There are many things that I’ve learned especially when dealing with clients or even in other situations. This knowledge gives me many ideas I can apply in the field. Given that I was a fresh graduate with my bachelor’s degree in Psychology, there are topics in the sessions that I can recall, though some of the topics were new to me and I was glad to be enlightened with all those learnings that I gained during the sessions. In the series of sessions, I admit that I was too shy to participate in the session because I didn’t have the experience to share with the group. However, I realize that even if I don’t have such experience like others, I have my personal experience during my college years as this matters too. Upon engaging with the youth during the practicum, I was glad to participate as I was able to share some of the knowledge that I gained during my internship. This helps me to participate somehow and be part of the health committee. It was a great opportunity to be part of the health committee as I was able to engage and step up myself to learn and have my practice.
There were times that I worried about myself, doubting myself if I could facilitate with the youth. Gladly, the other committee helped me with our program. They encourage me that I can do it, as they will help me with facilitating the program for the youth. Right now, I am thankful that I was able to accomplish the sessions and practicum. I am excited to learn more as I will apply the learnings that I gain and explore new things beyond my limits.” – Jason Capino
