IMAGINE1: Where Will I Be?

In the year 2020, when Alchemy calls upon me to help with the Tokyo food crisis, I will have only been out of school for a couple of years. I will have a Masters in some sort of
Psychology, most likely in Counseling Psychology and working in an office that
lends aid to individuals struggling with eating disorders and or other addictions.
Looking at it realistically, it would be ambitious to say I would have my own
practice, but this is a wish I do have. Chances are I will be working in a
large city, this won’t be the best fit for me but for the stage of my life that
I will be in, that’ll be the best fit for me, as that’s where I will be most
likely to find work.

Outside of my work, I will be working on a way to provide non-medication based mental health services to families and individuals living in low SES areas. In these areas,
medication tends to be the first line treatment, even for children because it
is what is most cost effective, but medications can also have serious, long
lasting side effects, and with many of these medications there is little known
about the effects they can have on the developing child’s brain. Thus, in some
ways, other therapeutic treatments may be the overall better route for these
individuals to take, but they may not be able to afford them. The program will
not yet be in place yet, but I will be in the process of figuring out a way to
make therapeutic interventions economically friendly, if not free, but still
remaining the same quality as those who are more financially stable. To this I
would probably be working with the CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association),
looking at ways to get funding to open up these facilities, and looking for
other mental health professionals to join in my journey.

When called to Tokyo however, I will dutifully go, attempting to keep up with the planning stages of my innovation through telecommunication and/or the internet wherever
possible. Once in Tokyo, I will offer my services as a relief worker, dealing
with the psychological well being of the famine victims, helping to provide
them with a safe place to express their concerns, stresses, offer intervention
where needed, and even move onto the streets, in search for individuals who want
and or need the help, but may not have the means necessary to gain them.

Although I may not have the education, knowledge, or understanding of how to contribute fighting the food crisis when I first arrive, I will at least be able to help give the individuals
living in Tokyo hope and support, and who knows what I may learn while I’m
there.I have a feeling that I will enter Tokyo with my own narrow skill set, and will leave there learning from all of you, harbouring new skill sets, that may help me continue my pathway to changing the world when I return back home.