LOOKING FOR HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL WORK CAREER?

Are there issues getting in the way of you doing or being your best?

• Are you having trouble settling into your role?

• Do you lack confidence dealing with clients or colleagues?

• Are challenging clients leaving you drained or confused?

• Would you like more direction and support to manage your relationships at work?

• Do you want to get better at teamwork and managing conflict?

• Are you unsure of which career direction to take or which jobs to apply for?

• Or do you just want to be better at what you do?

I started my social work career late in life. My background was in academia and the visual arts. In my role as head of a department, I learnt a lot about teaching, about universities and about mentoring young people and managing staff. It was my job to help young artists get the most out of their time at university, explore their practice and think about the next steps in their art career.

Of course, I understand that social work is a very different field. But I’ve always loved mentoring young people. I’ve taken many of the skills I learnt in my teaching career into social work. My experience in mentoring, listening and analysing has proved useful both for social work students and for supporting clients in their journey. I’ve enjoyed helping many young people take their first steps in the profession.

And I’m looking forward to helping you too.

Social work isn’t just about our clients.

Working with people requires self-awareness, empathy, discipline and patience. When we work with clients, we have a duty to them, but we also have a duty to our profession, our organisation, our colleagues, and ourselves.

Teamwork is essential to any human services organisation. Fitting into a team and working well with colleagues, managers and supervisors is vital to a fulfilling social work career. Supervision can help you manage these important relationships and be ready to excel at work.

Self-care is part of any good social worker’s routine. Supervision is a vital component of self-care. Without it we might not get the opportunity to reflect, to improve our practice and to be the best social worker we can be.

I know that starting out in social work can be challenging. I’ve been there. Of course, we all complete our placements as part of our degree, so we think we know what to expect in agency and organisational work. But no placement can really prepare you for all the intricacies and variables of social work. We don’t always know what we will face in our first job and sometimes it’s the unexpected things that can become barriers to performing at our best.

Sometimes, there are things that come up for us, barriers to best practice, emotional problems, habits and assumptions, moments and traces from our histories that can get in the way of us performing at our best. The nature of social work is dynamic and with funding challenges and frequent restructures it can be hard to feel supported in the workplace. Social work can be a challenging profession and without good support, we can find ourselves floundering.

Good decision making is part of good practice, but sometimes you will need help to understand the competing interests of clients and organisations. An experienced supervisor can help you navigate the challenges of organisational work and feel confident that you are meeting your ethical requirements and doing the best you can for your clients.

The best supervision is tailored to your needs. It’s not something that can be phoned in or manualised. And its not something that should be guided by managerial principles. In many workplaces, supervision has become an arm of performance management, impacting its potential to provide a safe space for reflection and growth.

My aim is to offer you supportive, independent, thoughtful and client-centred supervision. As part of my work with you, we will look at what is going on right now, but we will also explore the past. Our histories are a part of who we are and what we bring to the table as social workers. And that’s a part of what we will examine in supervision.

It’s important for you to feel safe.

Good supervision allows you to be vulnerable in a supportive environment where together, we can explore the issues in a reflective way.
Whether you have an urgent problem you need to examine, or you are looking for ongoing support to develop your practice, let me help you be the best social worker you can be.

You May Still Have Some Questions About Social Work Supervision.

DOES IT WORK?

Supervision is designed to help support you in your journey. Many social workers hire supervisors outside their workplace in order to manage the everyday stresses of working with clients and benefit from a more objective viewpoint on organisational complexities. It should provide a safe, reflective space for exploring your practice and getting the most from your social work career. Supervision helps social workers manage the stress of practice, but it also allows us to explore and reflect in a supportive environment.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Supervision aims to foster best practice. It should be tailored to your needs and offer mentoring, reflection, support and guidance. If you’d like to explore whether I might be the best choice for you, your next step will be to book an initial discovery call. Then we can arrange further appointments either face to face or online, depending on your needs.

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?

That depends on your needs and where you are in your social work journey. Social work supervision should be considered a long-term choice. It is a way of enhancing professional development and embedding good self-care. Supervision will help you manage the everyday stresses of client work and set you up for best practice over the long term. If we decide together that I am the right choice for you, then I am ready to walk with you on your social work journey, wherever that might lead.

DO I NEED TO SIGN UP FOR A PACKAGE?

No. You can buy ad hoc sessions to help you on your way. Flexibility is important, that’s why I offer the option of single sessions with no lock in contracts. Although I recommend having consistent supervision, especially if you are just starting out in the profession, the frequency may need to be flexible, depending on your needs.

I can’t wait to join you on your journey:

Book your free discovery call here: