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.”

January 15, 2010Social work

Kieran O’Hagan on Competence in Social Work Practice

“…why is it that a very small number of social workers who have striven so hard to qualify and who have demonstrably proven their competence at the end of their training fail to maintain it in practice? […] It certainly cannot happen overnight. The reports often expose terrible working conditions, e.g., inadequate supervision and resources, and unrealistic caseloads (and that’s even without mention of exceedingly difficult and often intimidating clients). All of these factors may adversely affect the worker’s level of performance, and in some cases, make it virtually impossible to maintain the level of competence already achieved in practice placements, and amply recorded and demonstrated in workers’ portfolio. Therein I believe, lies both the problem and the solution…”

December 15, 2009Counselling

Christiane Sanderson on Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma

“…practitioners need to ensure they do not hide behind protocols and prescriptive techniques in order to create an authentic human relationship in which to truly understand their client and undo the dehumanisation inherent in interpersonal abuse.”

November 15, 2009Arts therapies

A tribute to renowned play therapist Ann Cattanach

JKP first published Ann Cattanach’s work in the early 1990’s, by which time she was an established play therapist, confident in her ability to help…

September 15, 2009Social work

David Carson: What can Social Workers do to avoid being criticised – or sued?

“I had asked my social work students what additional topics they would like me to lecture upon. As a law lecturer I had explained how they could be sued for negligence and how easily they, and their evidence, could be misrepresented in court. So I should not have been surprised when they said they wanted to know how to take decisions that would avoid liability…”

September 15, 2009Education

Interview with Jan Horwath, author of The Child’s World

“For me the biggest challenge is recognising effective practice and, in the same way that we have begun to pay more attention to resilience amongst children and young people, we should be considering what makes for a resilient workforce. Why is it that some practitioners can continue to work effectively with service users when others in the same or similar settings struggle?”

August 15, 2009January 30, 2023Autism

Carol Hagland on Working with Adults with Asperger Syndrome

“Adults with AS seem so often to be regarded as a frustrating puzzle. I have spent much of the last ten years or so teaching and training people to understand and manage the problems that AS can present, and it seemed that this was an area where lots of people, regardless of their level of training, would welcome some help.”

July 15, 2009Adoption and Fostering

Linda Goldman: Children Living with Fear – Recognizing and Healing the Trauma

“Traumatized children tend to re-create their trauma, often experiencing bad dreams, waking fears, and reoccurring flashbacks.. Young children have a very hard time putting these behaviours into any context of safety. Many withdraw and isolate themselves, regress and appear anxious, and develop sleeping and eating disorders as a mask for the deep interpretations of their trauma.”

June 15, 2009Counselling

Judy Ryde on Being White in the Helping Professions

“I found…that it is extremely difficult for us white people to understand our position in a racial context. Many people I spoke to wondered if ‘white’ meant anything at all and I started by questioning if there was anything to look at. Then gradually the meaning of whiteness in a racial context became apparent, like shapes emerging from a white page. It was both fascinating and salutary.”

November 15, 2008Autism

An interview with ‘kindred spirit’ Shana Nichols, author of Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum

“I have always loved stories about creative, strong, gutsy heroines such as Anne Shirley and Jo March from Little Women, and I try to bring that energy to my work with girls and young women with ASDs—embracing challenges, overcoming obstacles, and finding a “kindred spirit” along the way.”