Look outside the box, help disadvantaged people.
This help is extremely important, especially in an environment of poverty, and often violence and addiction problems.
This volunteer program is especially suitable for:
While volunteering in this project you will definitively get out of your comfort zone. You will immerse yourself into another culture, into other realities. The volunteer work in Psychology takes takes place in Quito in a community of disadvantaged people. Volunteers support a non-profit psychotherapeutic clinic. The staff takes care of people in a socially deprived area who are sorely in need of psychological attention but have no access to it - be it because there are no available offers or because the existing offers are to be paid for privately.
An Ecuadorian and a German doctor founded the clinic together in order to counteract this problem. In the psychotherapeutic clinic, patients of all ages are treated for a very small contribution. Most of them suffer depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD, stress and drug problems. Children and adolescents with behavioral problems also receive help in individual or group therapy. Speech therapy is also offered in the center, because this too is very deficient in public care and private care is extremely expensive.
The efforts of this institution and the help of volunteers is extremely important, especially in an environment of poverty, a lack of prospects, a lack of education and often violence and addiction problems. For prevention, the institution also works with schools and educates children and parents about mental illnesses in the district.
Volunteers work in different areas of the institution:
- Assisting during the treating
- Writing reports and tests
- Maintaining materials
- Giving advice to patients in the waiting area
- Making appointments
- Completing documentation
Volunteers with psychological training can, depending on their experience and language skills, make their own diagnoses after a while.
From time to time the volunteers also accompany the psychologists to the schools in order to do prevention work there. If you want, you can also contribute or implement your own project and ideas.
This volunteer position is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at psychology students, trained psychologists or people with a therapeutic training.
The volunteer work can be realized on a full day or half day schedule. Usually, volunteers start working at around 9 am in the morning and finish in the afternoon around 3 pm.
Quito is located in the Andean highlands at an altitude of around 2850 meters. Therefore, despite its proximity to the equator, it is moderately warm all year round with an average temperature of around 13 °C. During the day, temperatures reach between 20 and 25 °C. There are rainy seasons from September to November and from January to April. It then usually rains around noon and then the sun is shining again.
Quito not only has a great location, right under the Pichincha volcano and a pleasant climate, but also cultural treasures: Built in the 16th century on the ruins of an ancient Inca city, Quito has the best preserved historical center in all of Latin America.
For this reason, Quito was the first city in the world to be designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Quito also offers a lively nightlife, pretty markets, interesting museums and theaters as well as various kinds of festivals at certain times.
Outdoor fans will also get their money's worth on day trips to the surrounding Andean landscapes!