I qualified as a science teacher in the 70s and re-trained as a social worker in 1986. I worked for Suffolk County Council (England) for 31 years in adult services but have been a practice educator since 1987. 23 of those years were working with adults with learning disabilities and their families as well as all the other education, support and health services. I was also trained as a counsellor and worked in-house in this role too for 14 very interesting and fulfilling years.
I am now an independent social worker, practice educator, mentor and trainer – working for 4 universities and across 2 counties as my full-time job. I work across all children and adult services with my students and LOVE being a practice e educator. I also teach unemployed people up to the age of 24 who want to become carers but don’t have the skills or confidence to apply for jobs.
I chose the Allegri’s Miserere because …
When I was training as a counsellor we had residentials in a stunning Elizabethan Mansion in Suffolk. Playing this piece of haunting music while on a weekend there with my colleagues was just the perfect piece in the perfect setting and summed up a lot of our journey to date and the need for space for us to work on our cognitive dissonance that, as social work students, we all suffered from as we grew and changed our internal @self@. I find that it always takes you in to that space that we need to use for reflection, helps ease the head-chatter and noise that surrounds us in our daily work. Often we find we don’t have that crucial space for self and reflection …. the music helps us regain this and also helps us with our resilience. So get some space …. put the music on …. shut your eyes, relax and float inside it and allow yourself the time and space to relax and reflect …. and refresh. As social workers our lives are so pressured that we often forget our own needs so use this to restore some balance. We DO need to refill our emotional pools so that we function properly – more and more important for us in these days of rapid change.
social work in 40 objects 