A blog post by MA in Marital and Family Therapy Student Ambassador Saba Faridi

Hello! My name is Saba Faridi and I am a second year in the USD MFT program. I was placed at Rady Children’s Hospital Outpatient Psychiatry, Central for my practicum site (my top choice!). I have been at Rady since September 2021, and I already feel at home! Here at Rady, I see children of all ages and their families with a wide range of diagnoses. The kiddos are great to work with and I am constantly reminded about why I wanted to enter this profession. The learning curve is steep and there is a lot to get used to, but the experience has been so humbling and rewarding. The team I work with are so kind, supportive, and passionate about what they do. There is a diverse team of MFT’s, SW’s, Psychologists, Psychiatrists and more. Everyone has an open-door policy and has the best interest of the clients and the team in mind.

The staff lounge is always filled with yummy snacks and a safe space. The team is always celebrating the little wins and definitely make me excited to come back every day. (That is a lot coming from a graduate student!). As an intern, I never feel less than in this office. This week for Halloweek we have had some fun events such as a door decorating contest, twin day, crazy sock day, wear a wig day and more. All of these have been great opportunities for the staff to bond and for the clients and families to get involved.