Just who am I!?
Humanistic and existentialist thinking might lead us to conclude that our sense of self is constructed from, among other things, being autonomous, being free thinking and being part of a community. More...
Category: Practice
Cicero, self, and Social Work
Just what does the Roman philosopher, politician and orator Cicero have to do with social work in 2017!? What can the musings of someone from 107 – 44 BCE tell us about...
How delivering good practice is adding to the DoLS assessment backlog problem.
Ongoing increase in outstanding assessments The annual review of deprivation of liberty safeguards has revealed an on going increase in situations that still require attention through assessment. The safeguards ensure that those deprived of...
Emotions and running away from wooly mammoths
Emotions are a strong and powerful force. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us. Sometimes they lead us to lose focus and control and respond in ways, in hindsight, we wish...
Stop talking, start listening!
As social workers and social work students we understand, I suspect, the importance of effective communication and spend a lot of time thinking about what we should say and how we should...
Communication – The Impact of Context
Communication is absolutely fundamental to social work practice. As well as communication taking place between individuals it also takes place within specific contexts. This is about environment but also the contextual framework...
Communication – the bedrock of practice
Communication skills are the bedrock of social work practice in all situations – when working with service users or their carers, presenting a case in court or at panel, or liaising with...
Communication & Eye Contact
I love the Pelican Originals, which were published by Penguin from the ’30s to the ’80’s. I’ve got myself a little collection that I’m building; I love the blue spines and the...
Reconstructing Memory
The advantage that memory gives us is the ability to predict the future. When confronted with a situation we can explore what we already know and act accordingly. If we do not...
Communication & Dementia
Effective communication is paramount in working with a person with dementia where verbal communication may have declined (expressive ability) and where comprehension of language may be difficult (receptive ability). Communication cannot be...