SLV.Global Reviews 190

I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to spend two weeks in India on the Clinical and Cultural Psychology Program with SLV Global. When I arrived back home I could not wait to start spreading the word about mental health practices in India and how they differ from those in Australia. I found the culture and the way in which they treat patients for mental health very interesting and valuable to my own personal knowledge and studies. The way in which they prioritise meditation and mindfulness as a first treatment option before medication opened my eyes to the different options most of the world aren’t even aware of, and the benefits they can have on a person. I would highly recommend joining one of the SLV placements if you wish to extend your knowledge and open your eyes to mental health practices around the world. I am excited to see where my journey with SLV will take me from here!

I did a one month placement in Bali a few months ago and to say the experiences was amazing is an understatement. I have always been driven to work in the mental health field, however, there was very little volunteer experiences offered in my community that allowed me to truly engage in this field. As a psychology major I had heard about different global opportunities available to give students first hand experience in their selected fields and I though it was my time to find my own opportunities. It was then that I discovered SLV.Global. Getting the chance to travel and immerse myself in my dream field of work was life changing. I was able to apply the skills I had learned in lecture halls, as well as, I got the opportunity to change my own perspective and move from a western way of thinking to a more global and diverse outlook. Every day offered new opportunities to learn and grow, ultimately furthering my success as a newcomer into this ever-growing field. Due to this, the experiences I was able to have with SLV.Global were not just amazing, they were life changing.

My time with SLV was the absolute best experience of my life. We got to promote positive mental health in the Mysore community and meet amazing people, while also getting to explore Southern India on weekends. The SLV staff was so kind and caring, props to them for providing emotional support for about 40 volunteers for a whole month! I am definitely thinking of going on another placement with SLV because you can see the impact you are making in the community and it is the most satisfying thing ever.

After just completing the first ever mental health placement in India, I have nothing but positive things to say about SLV.Global. My four weeks in India were spent engaging with service users of all ages and in various settings, from psychology wards in mental health clinics to de-addiction centres and government schools. Each service user has a different story, and it's so rewarding to be able to get to know each individual and play your part to make an impact with positive psychology.

The SLV staff on projects were also amazing. They were always supportive and encouraging the team, and were ready at all times to step in if needed for whatever reason. During session planning, they were always able to provide inspiration for project ideas if we were ever unsure. There was never a time where I felt unprepared before a project and I think the staff play a huge part in this!

My placement with SLV definitely went further than my expectations. I was able to learn so much about a whole new culture that contrasts so differently to the one I'm used to. We also had mini language lessons in Kannada at the beginning of session planning, which made introducing myself to service users a little more interesting!

Lastly, in addition to gaining such rewarding mental health experience, I was also able to build lifelong friendships with so many people from all across the globe, who made the experience even more amazing. I absolutely recommend doing a placement with SLV, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made!

I was part of the advanced mental health placement in Sri Lanka and it was one of the best things I have decided to do! It was a unique experience whereby I was able to run sessions with service users at the national institute of mental health - an experience which would be very difficult to come by in the UK! I attended field trips in which I was able to shadow a consultant psychiatrist at a child and adolescent mental health ward at a children’s hospital, which provided myself with real insight. I was able to work with a range of service users whom were of different ages and different diagnoses and it gave me a feel for what a career would be like within that profession. Aside from the work experience I was able to experience a different culture for five weeks, and live with a Sri Lankan family, something that will stay with me for the rest of my life! I saw so many beautiful scenes and made friends from all across the world! I would definitely recommend SLV.Global.

I was involved in the first ever volunteering programme in Bali (so like any pilot programs, you do expect a lot of flexibility to bear with things being twisted around a bit). It was a truly incredible experience in how the local mental health industry was and what we could potentially do to help. There was one time when a little boy followed us to the car park after our very messy session in a Down Syndrome centre, due to language barriers and that some of the kids weren't very verbal anyways. I still could remember the surprise we had after finding out that he followed us just to say goodbye and the exact moment when I knew his smile made my day. It's just amazing how little effort (and even those that didn't go exactly in the way we wished they had) make a difference on other people's wellbeing. That was the lesson that I've always taken with me for my subsequent research/more clinical work in this field.
Back in the very first programme that I participated, there was already a wide range of different options that we were exposed to, so that we had contact with children in local special-needs school, with community members, with patients in psychiatric wards etc. Although it was not yet a very clinical experience (as in we weren't exactly having lots of contact with psychiatrists/psychologists etc, but I am sure it has changed quite a bit since then), it was a very good first step. So good that now after I have had a little bit more "clinical experience" I was looking for back then, I often referred back to that experience and I am able to still reflect a lot from it.

SLV.Global has been a promising Positive Psychology approach to Mental Health and the coordination between the management, the volunteers from around the world and the local staff has been exemplary! Can't wait to continue with the awesome energy from Bali and Java to my stint in India as an Ambassador. Looking forward to continue in Sri Lanka as a Peer Mentor. Here's wishing the organisation the very best of services and service users!

In 2017 I completed a 5 week mental health placement in Sri Lanka. The experience I gained during my placement was invaluable from the hands on practical experience of running creative therapeutic sessions to working with vulnerable individuals with intellectual disability’s. I would highly recommend this placement to anyone who is looking to develop their personal skills as well as practical. Also the mentors I worked under such as supervisors and peer mentors were always helpful and approachable to any worries I had durning my placement which was a huge comfort especially being so far away from home. I can’t compliment SLV enough for the memories they have giving me, bandaragama Sri Lanka will always have a special place in my heart.

I did my placement in Sri Lanka and had really great time! Got out of my comfort zone and learned a lot of interesting things about mental health in Sri Lanka. The homestay families were great and very welcoming, and the food was amazing. Overall a good experience.

I did the india placement with slv and I would do it all over again if I could, it was such a enriching experience. I have never been part of something like this, and I have never been to Asia before. I loved the clinical part and the seminars were so informative. I was older than most actually all of the other participants but I did not mind but if ever someone was to go that is older to be aware that most of the others are students or have just recently graduated. I am a mental health worker and I learn so much. Namaste!

This summer I went to Indonesia with SLV and it was AWESOME!! I was on a years exchange year in Aber Uni, though I am Psychology student from Albania.

I loved every minute of it. Bali and Java are amazing countries and the people were so friendly. I would recommend going to anyone, even if you are not on SLV placement.

This experience made me know I want to be a Psychologist and dedicate myself to looking after peoples mental health.

Thanks to everyone, from Ketut to my Coordinators and all my team, I will never forget you.

It is a brilliant programme that has improved my confidence in interactions with a wide variety of people and has solidified my love for helping others. It is extremely useful for Psychology graduates as it really defines mental health in a positive light whilst enhancing interpersonal skills with the amazing individuals that make it worthwhile. The skills learnt are utilised within each project and new ideas are brought about through discussion with other volunteers and service users. I have had a fantastic time in an immersive cultural experience unique to anything I have ever experienced before and I miss being in Bali day after day! I wish everyone within the placement well and I am so thankful for the amazing experiences I have been fortunate enough to be a part of! 😁

Had the most amazing time spending 5 weeks volunteering in Sri Lanka!! The people I met and projects that I was lucky enough to take part in were unlike anything you could get at home. Every day was so different but felt just as rewarding and I could really see the positive impact I was having on the service users seeing them week after week. My homestay family were the most welcoming people and it was amazing to live with them and experience their culture and food just as they do. Would definitely recommend this placement!!

I had never been to India and it was more than I ever could have imagined. When we first arrived we went straight to the school of wisdom. I arrived earlier than everyone else but it was fine as Manju gave me a great welcome and before I knew it I was eating some delicious fruit he bought from a local fruit seller!

I had never done yoga or meditating or anything similar before, it was a steep learning curve. I am not sure I am suited to it but I can see the benefits and I enjoyed the other workshops from the psychologists.

I really enjoyed visiting NIMHAS psychiatric hospital and seeing how different the practices were. The family services were especially enlightening.

Mysore at the weekend was great, and I bought so much stuff from the market, thanks guys for putting up with my shopping addiction! I was not able to do week 2 due to time restrictions but I wish I had, maybe next time ;)

Thanks to the team again!

Loved it!!! I did four weeks in Sri Lanka in the September team. I was in Horana. Our homestay was very small, just three of us, though we were expecting more people, it was so lovely and our amma could not have been kinder.

I really enjoyed my projects, even the ones we had to travel for almost an hour to get to! The buses were an experience to say the least. ;) Sometimes we had to get tuk Tuks which was more expensive, so perhaps minibuses should be provided?

I loved Sri Lanka, the food was delicious and I had the best times at weekend. We went to Ella on our first weekend and it was so beautiful - would recommend to anyone! We also went to the beach and to kandy. Kandy was very busy and one of our group had her purse stolen from an outdoor restaurant so please be careful.

4 weeks sounds like a long time but it flew by. It was truly life changing - thank you :)

India is such an amazing country. I went on both week 1 and week 2 of the ancient and clinical psych programme. It was an amazing experience. My plane was delayed which meant that I arrived on the programme later than others but it did not matter too much. The school we stayed in at the start was really peaceful, but our shower was a bit off and on but thankfully we were moved rooms. Bangalore was not peaceful, but the hotel was nice and after the seminars at Nimhans it was nice to explore the city. Manju was so long showing us around. Mysore was great. Week 2 was great to see the country, a little bit too much time in the minibus but I suppose there is joy much that can be done. I loved the trek we did and I wished we could of done more!

I had an amazing time and thanks again to Manju for his support during the trip.

I completed 12 weeks as peer mentor this summer. I would recommend being a peer mentor as though it was not always easy I feel as I developed as person during my time. The first few weeks included much needed training. My teams were ways great, sometimes there could be a little too much expectation that I would come up with the ideas that was ok. From my experience being a youth leader for my church, I felt equipped to support everyone rub their sessions.

Things do not always go the way you plan, this is try anywhere but in Sri Lanka it is too be expected. As the island of serendipity- just enjoy the journey!

After joining the Sri Lanka placement last year, this year I participated in the Bali placement. Both were amazing but also really different. I did the level 1 placement last year so I could bring many ideas that we had used in Sri Lanka to the team in Bali. Many of my projects in Bali were children focused and the type of sessions we did at the psychiatric hospital were different but often we could use similar session ideas.

I enjoyed the extra workshops and the weekends off to travel. I left on Friday after my placement finished but I would recommend staying for the last weekend as most of my group stayed but I had to get back.

After graduating this year in Psych I joined SLV.Global on their Sri Lanka advanced placement. I stayed for 5 weeks and was based in the Colombo. The start of the placement involved us getting training up and then we also visited some of our projects. Alongside my AS projects at the psych hospital, I also volunteered at 2 centres for people with special needs. I got ill for a bit and the weather was a really bad so I couldn’t volunteer at one of the children's projects that I was assigned which was a shame. But I felt like I gained a lot of skills while doing the projects and my confidence really grew too.

All of the staff that supported me on placement were amazing, especially the local staff who went above and beyond for us. They gave us such an insight into their culture and I miss them so much. I did leave feeling like family.

I have just got back from doing a 5 week foundation placement with SLV in Sri Lanka. I can safely say it was the best thing I have ever done. However, it was not without its hard times. I was not used to such basic living and I am proud that I coped so well. Our homestay family were so kind but whenever I have been in hot climates before I have had AC!

I had not worked in an environment like this before and I know I gained a great deal about knowledge about global mental health. Sri Lanka's mental health resources are scarce and I am so proud that together we worked at places that so clearly needed our support.

I am proud that I did this and grateful for the opportunity.