Farewell Ireland! It’s truly felt like we’ve lived two days within the past 24 hours. Our brutal 5 AM alarm came quickly. However, we all made it to the airport just in time to endure through the long lines of customs. We said our painfully bittersweet goodbyes to Ireland, as many of us were ready to return to the States. Three movies, two small meals and a snack later, we were back on U.S. soil. Upon our arrival to Philadelphia, many of us chose to have one last lunch/dinner together. We had our little picnic on the floor while waiting for our flight to Louisville. The time came for us to board the plane, so we all piled on, buckled up, and waited patiently for take off. Although we shouldn’t have been surprised by our 2 hour delayed departure due to our last encounter at the airport, we remained optimistic. Many of us played games together as we waited for the Captain to update us on the status of our departure. As we approached the 2^nd hour on the runway, our optimism for returning home was fading. However, just in the nick of time, our Captain informed us that we would be one of the very few planes to leave this evening. With cheers and claps coming from the members of the plane, we were homebound. I’m sad to say that we are back in the States, as we now must endure Louisville’s heat. It’s been one memorable, thrilling, filling, and exhausting trip, but I think it’s safe to say, we would all do it again in a heartbeat. --Amber and Courtney 

Today was our last full day in Ireland and we all set out to savor every moment of it! We began the day sharing what we have learned about Ireland's mental health services and learning from each other's experiences over breakfast. Afterwards we walked to Trinity College and toured the Book of Kells. This library is huge in size and even greater in beauty and architecture. The library was started in the 1500s and in the 1800s when they were running out of space, a second story was added on with a new roof. Louie and the group spent the morning in awe of the privilege to stand amongst all of the history and beauty surrounding us on these shelves. 

In the afternoon we split off into smaller groups for lunch and more exploration of Dublin. Louie enjoyed taking in the sights and sunshine at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Later we all met back up at The Brazen Head for an evening of Food, Folklore and Fairies. The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Dublin and was a real treat to top off our trip. While enjoying our last Irish dinner we were entertained by stories of Ireland's past, stories of fairies and leprechauns that had been passed down for generations, and live traditional Irish music. With sleepy eyes and full bellies we headed back to the hotel for the night as leprechauns and fairies visited our dreams. --Lisa

Carolina

Our day could not have started better: a traditional Irish full breakfast and a cup of coffee gave us the necessary energy to embark on our way to Trinity College Dublin, the oldest university in Ireland.

As we approached the campus our glances and thoughts were lost in the wonderful and historic buildings and their beautiful green areas.  Undoubtedly, Lou had to be present more than ever that day. With his beak held high, Lou nobly represented us and his outstretched wings gave us an air of freedom and rush of inspiration.

After a placid wait, immersed in the history and legacy of the erudites who walked these cobble-stoned paths before us, we finally met Ladislav Timulak, the Course Director of the Doctorate in Counseling Psychology.  He graciously spent a couple hours giving us a brief introduction to the program. He mentioned the necessary requirements to apply and the advantages of studying at such a prestigious university.  Namely, the university’s international reputation and high standards both in research and professional training.

He also shared with us his main research interest, particularly the development of emotion-focused therapy for use in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. His other projects involve assessment of effectiveness of online therapies, assessment of effectiveness of counseling in routine care, and other topics that his graduate student supervises are currently studying.

Finally, after an interactive discussion of his and our experiences coupled with questions about the functioning of the mental health system in the United States compared to Ireland, we left the faculty of psychology to capture in our memories the visit to such an imposing university with a picture of us.

Obviously Lou was ready, at our side, shouting GO Cards! 

Thursday, May 23^rd, started out like any other normal day in Ireland for the group.  Louie joined us for a cup of coffee with brekky before setting our sites on a visit to the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin.  While there we were amazed by the history and influence of Irish culture around the globe.  Having never gone in-depth into their history, we were amazed at the sheer number of Irish peoples in diaspora. 

The amazement didn’t stop there, though.  The museum itself was a technological masterpiece.  Many of the exhibits were interactive and allowed visitors to learn at their own pace.  This excited our nerdy little psychological hearts.  Louie also gave his adamant support of the visit, giving the museum 10 out of 10 feathers.  Before leaving, he insisted that we leave valuable feedback and recommend that EPIC give our tour guide chocolate for the exceptionally informative journey she took us on.

Louie was bit peckish, so we decided to get lunch at the Boat Bar and Restaurant.  There we had an amazing meal afloat the Dublin Harbor which leads to the Celtic Sea.  Not long into lunch, though, Louie went rogue.  We found him mid-aqueous-escape, he had jumped overboard!  In a state of distress, we asked some local gentlemen for assistance and they valiantly rescued poor Louie from the waterways.  

Having had a most adventurous day, we decided to turn early.  Not before taking a moment to reflect on the day’s lessons and bask in the beauty that is the city of Dublin. ---Rex & Aryn

Louis and a bit of art therapy

Louis outside Temple Bar

After four days of excursions and another of travel, we were all able to have a day to ourselves to choose our own adventures in Dublin. Many of us took time to see the Dublin castle, the church, or various museums early on. Personally, I took the free time to sleep in and rest. Once I woke up, me and three other art therapy students took a taxi to the Saint John of God Hospital as part of a site visit. We were interested in understanding more about eating disorders in the art therapy/psycho-therapy community. Next, we visited the Modern Art Museum and we especially enjoyed the garden and Lucian Freud exhibit. We finished the day out on our own with delicious food from this hole in the wall restaurant just outside of the well known Temple Bar off of Temple Bar Road. While watching the sun set, I worked on my computer, and Lou joined me to work and draw on my patio overlooking a few side streets. ---Kaitlyn

Garden at the Modern Art Museum

Mikayla

On Monday May, the 21^st we said good bye to Cork and road the rails to Dublin. We woke up bright and early to catch the train. On the ride, some of us kept ourselves busy working on presentations and papers, while others dozed off to sleep. Once we arrived we made our way to the hotel. Hungry and tired we finally found our room assignments and dropped our things off. After refreshing our spirits, we headed out to explore Dublin in search of our first meal. We found that though charming Dublin is a much bigger city than Cork and we did not venture too far from our hotel. We also enjoyed the nightlife and took pleasure in knowing that we did not have to wake up too early the next morning. 

All Aboard! Louis found his reserved seat for the train ride to Dublin.

Rachel

Hello from Kinsale, Ireland! Our group took a trip to Kinsale from our accommodations in Cork today. It was absolutely gorgeous! We enjoyed a walking tour led by a gentleman who knew so much about the history of the city and we truly enjoyed learning more about what we were seeing. My favorite fun fact of the day: legend has it Kinsale doesn’t have mermaids, but instead has Mermen in the harbor. It’s been a great day!

My smaller group also completed our first site visit. We are researching eating disorders and found a center available in Cork that addresses such issues. It was wonderful to talk to the therapist on staff and learn more about the treatment options available in Cork. Our group also plans on visiting a larger facility in Dublin that has an art therapist on staff. We are looking forward to learning more while we’re there and the entire group is ready to explore a new city together! 

Louie enjoying the views in Kinsale!

Our day began bright and early with a two hour bus ride to the Cliffs of Moher. Along the way, our bus driver told us many facts and stories about Ireland’s history. Did you know there are over 30,000 castles in Ireland!? On our way to the cliffs, our group decided that we wanted to cut our time a little short at the cliffs in order to take a boat tour to gain a new perspective of the cliffs. While we were at the Cliffs of Moher, we had about an hour to explore and attempt to capture the essence of the cliffs with our photos. As I am sure you can imagine, the photos were unable to do the breathtaking views any justice. Some went to the top of a small castle in order to gain a better view while others went off the beaten path to explore the other views the cliffs had to offer. Thankfully, no one was swept away by the strong gusts of wind at the top of the cliffs even Louis survived his brief flight at the peak.

Suprisingly, we were all back to the bus on time to go to the boat tour that would take us close to the bottom of the cliffs and see the cave where a scene in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was filmed. We were also told that there were 20 species of birds that nested along the edge of the cliffs. The boat tour was quite wavy and many struggled to keep their balance while standing in the back of the boat and up top. Some were even feeling quite nauseous, but thankfully we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. However, we all agreed that the stunning views and sea level perspective was worth the cold and wetness! What a wonderful way to spend our last day in Cork!  -Alex and Bridgette

Joe

On this day our aching feet were given rest along the most beautiful bus ride you could ever imagine.  The entire day felt like a dream spent in a fantasy world where nature reigned over all other things.  Our journey was through the Ring of Kerry, a long ring of roads that circle the communities and magic of Kerry.  Throughout the ride we stopped at several locations to either share a meal, go for a walk through nature, or simply to take a picture with a small jack russell terrier that sleeps each day on the back of a donkey.  We stopped in Kilarney, Killorglin, Dingle Bay, Waterville, Sneem, Killarney National Park, and the Torc waterfall.  Much of my time was spent gazing in wonder and remembering to capture some semblance of the outstanding views in pictures.  Not only were our feet rested this day but our hearts opened even wider to the beauty of Ireland and her people.

Killarney National Park

Kathy

On May 17^th, we went to Blarney Castle. This castle was built in the 1400’s and parts of it still remains today. It is an Irish tradition to climb to the top of the castle and kiss the magical Blarney Stone. The ledged tells that once a person kisses the stone, they will gain the gift of gab, giving them eloquence and making them a smooth talker. The castle grounds also have different gardens and trails to walk. We all had a grand time exploring the grounds and kissing the Blarney Stone. Later I the evening, we ate a magnificent Italian feast at Scoozi’s in the Cork City Center and topped it off with a birthday celebration for Deb!

On May 18^th, we went on a bus tour of the ring of Kerry, where we stopped at many different places along the ring. Besides the incredible views, some of the highlights of our trip were the amazing little animals we saw along the way. We met some very cute goats, lambs, puppies, and even a donkey. Louis met them, too!

Christina

On Wednesday, we woke up bright and somewhat early to travel to downtown Cork to visit the building where Cork Institute of Technology's Art Therapy program is located. We saw an informative presentation about the program and art therapy's development in Ireland, and then got to talk directly with students in the program. It was so cool to talk to the students and learn about our differences, such as licensure and accessibility, but to also find similarities in our passions about populations and theoretical orientations. We've also learned how small this city really is because we've run into to some of the CIT students while walking around since our morning visit!After the visit, we had the whole day free to explore the city! A small group of us set out to knock out some souvenir shopping and find the best food, which seem to be the places you have to work for to find since they are hidden around corners and down side alleys. Lastly, we seem to have mastered the double decker bus system here since we are really racking up the mileage on our feet early in the day. Tomorrow is our Blarney Castle visit, and we are so excited to explore outside of the downtown area and see some SHEEP!

Louis takes a selfie in front of the Cork Institute of Technology Art Therapy building

Is Louis is skipping class at UCC?

Today was our first full day in Ireland. We woke up sluggish and headed to class at University College Cork (UCC). After engaging in analysis of research articles we had the great pleasure of meeting with Dr. Sharon Lambert. She provided us with insight on counseling in Cork and her history as a clinician. Dr Lambert specializes in applied psychology at UCC. Recently, she has been studying adolescent addiction, homelessness and trauma, as well as the affects of drug related deaths on family members. In her lecture we were able to learn a great deal about the similarities and differences of mental health services in Ireland compared to the U.S. We were also able to learn about her research on trauma and dealing with clients who are presenting with trauma histories. Dr. Lambert practices from a client driven standpoint and is interested in a holistic approach to mental health services. However, her opinions differ from many colleagues she comes in contact with, which leads to certain issues. It was extremely inspiring to hear how she is able to stand up for her clients and make sure they are always seen as humans. This issue can be difficult in Ireland, which primarily practices from a medical model of psychology. After we were able to ask Dr. Lambert questions we all went our separate ways and continued to explore Cork. In doing this we were able to interact with locals and learn about the culture of Ireland. We are all still a little tired, but excited for what lies ahead in our adventure. --Deborah

CLAIRE

We made it to Cork in one piece and everyone seemed incredibly excited, exhausted and hungry. Grabbing lunch at Oliver Plunketts was our first adventure. Along our way we were able to see a variety of different landmarks, centers, houses and parks. We are all eager to explore the wonderful places and experiences Cork has to offer. The night closed with everyone settling into their rooms, unwinding, reflecting on their journey and what’s to come.

Louis looks out onto Cork...