Hilary Abrahams looks at long-term outcomes of survivors of domestic violence
Hilary Abrahams is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Violence Against Women Research Group at the University of Bristol. She has worked extensively on the support…
Michael Mandelstam’s hopes and fears for the future of social care
“[My hope is] That the new policy of personalisation and self-directed support should not be not implemented crudely and with cost cutting in mind, and that it is not used as a cover for abandoning people, particularly older people, and leaving them to sink or swim…”
Danuta Lipinska on person-centred counselling for people with dementia
“They considered it helpful in their quest to ‘make sense of Self’ within the context of their lives as affected by living with dementia. Making sense of Self and the world around us is an endeavour we all undertake in our own unique ways, Sometimes people will seek out the impartial, empathic listening of a professional counsellor to support them in this quest.”
Phoebe Caldwell on her new DVD, Autism and Intensive Interaction
“Although the approach know as Intensive Interaction has been available since the 1980’s, it has relied on direct person-to-person teaching and until recently there has been remarkably little training material generally available. It really is important to see it done.”
Jude Welton on Asperger Syndrome, metaphors and literal thinking
“Since children with Asperger Syndrome are literal thinkers, some parents and professionals try to avoid metaphorical language, so as not to confuse or distress – but this can’t prepare the child for the real world. And non-literal language can be fun! If metaphors are explained and explored in a relaxed, playful way, they can enrich children’s understanding of language and the world, and help them to use language in a less formal and more ‘natural’ sounding way.”
Liz Hoggarth: Outcome evaluation – help is on the way
“Many of us react instinctively against further demands to produce evidence, especially quantitative information – we know all too well that progress with clients is made up of tiny, often faltering, steps forward that are extremely difficult to demonstrate or quantify. There are downsides to the outcomes approach as there are to other systems of planning and evaluation. But the question of outcomes is a perfectly legitimate one. The number of visits made to a family is beside the point if the risks are not picked up and appropriate interventions are not identified to begin to help people deal with the problems. The number of counselling sessions provided is hardly important if in the end they made no difference for the person seeking help. We must address outcomes in order to improve services.”
Chris Nicholson on Creative Therapeutic Approaches with traumatised young people
“Through sensitively handled, creative interaction and by the use of ‘creative’ approaches with traumatised young people their characteristic rigidity begins to loosen. New possibilities emerge, the mutative nature of create endeavours. In time, they may be able to see painfully familiar situations in different and helpful ways that can lead to their forming a new response.”
An interview with Ilona Roth: Getting to grips with the Autism Spectrum in the 21st Century
“…there seem to be two contrasting stereotypes about people with autism – either they are thought to be all severely disabled or all eccentric geniuses. While autism can reflect each of these extremes (or both together) it can also be many things in between. One challenge, therefore, is to ensure that the full spectrum of variation is understood. This is essential if people on the autism spectrum are to be seen as individuals with different needs.”
Jenny Weinstein on Service User Involvement in Mental Health Care
“Working with service users has taught me that professionals like me, however experienced or well trained we think we are, often miss the most important issues from a user’s perspective. I believe that hearing service users’ views and having service users involved centrally in all aspects of planning, developing and evaluating services is absolutely vital to ensure high quality services that are fit for purpose.”
Deborah Plummer on Imagework and Helping Children to Cope with Change, Stress and Anxiety
“When a child comes up with an image that represents how he feels about a situation, he is tapping into something that goes way beyond logical thought processes. And when he realises that he can ‘play’ with these images and be creative in forming new images, then he can begin to take more control. Imagework often triggers insights and shifts in perspective which may not come through logical thinking alone.”