This critical reflection emerges from a conversation with Dr. Cathy Richardson, Metis Professor of social work at the University of Montreal, Canada and from my own long-standing practice as a social worker, supervisor, and educator working across frontline practice, organisational contexts, and most recently in social work academia. Rather than presenting supervision as a neutral…
DetailsAt the close of this retreat, I noticed something different in myself. Usually, I carry a little residual anxiety—wondering whether people enjoyed themselves, whether they got what they needed, whether anyone felt disappointed. This time, I didn’t. That absence of worry is significant. Part of that comes with experience—this is Social Work Wise retreat number…
DetailsPondicherry Retreat anhttps://www.facebook.com/share/v/pHjFANpWE7sXZ529/d INT Conference
DetailsWhen I sat down to compose my annual ‘Social Work Wise in the rear-view mirror’ post, it occurred to me that to speak from the ethical intentions of social justice doing I must take an ‘outside-in’ approach by reviewing the social, political and cultural contextual factors that influence the work I choose to do at…
DetailsI had the honour of being invited to have this conversation with esteemed colleague Dr. Catherine Richardson, Director First Peoples Studies, School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University, Montreal. She is also the co-founder of the Centre for Response-based Practice and co-author of this inspiring article Richardson & Wade (2010) ‘ Islands of Safety:…
DetailsEight experienced social workers embarked on a collective journey retreating from the busyness, responsibility pressures, endless to-do lists and ‘the fight’ that goes on in everyday practice. They retreated to Alam Indah hotel in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, that provides a context of generous beauty, warmth and connection with nature and Balinese culture and community. In…
DetailsMy morning meditation sitting on the deck overlooking the jungled ravine, the aroma of sweet wafting incense and rotting vegetation, the waters gushing down the sides of lichen-covered walls and alongside crooked and broken pathways. Numerous exotic insects screech at each other across the ravine in competition with the distant hum of scooters and cars.…
DetailsWhat an extraordinary year one ‘post pandemic’ it was for my independent social work practice. It was a year of growth for sure being given the opportunity to connect with and work alongside an increasing number of individual practitioners and organisations. It was a year of providing scaffolds and holding safe spaces for people who…
Detailshttps://anchor.fm/socialworkspotlight In this podcast conversation with Yasmine McKee-Wright, I share my hard-earned wisdom from working in the inter-personal violence response fields of social work, some ideas about policy reform in child protection, ways of doing social justice and why high quality supervision is so important for longevity in this profession.
DetailsToday one of my supervisees, herself with 10 years frontline experience, asked me a very interesting question ‘What is the secret of your longevity in the social work profession?’ I think this question is particularly worthy of consideration given current narratives about ‘burn out’ and the requirements of ‘self-care’ being so influential in human service…
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