13
February 2019
“There’s nothing like seeing the participants change lives under your guidance”
One of our consultant social workers has shared a week’s diary with Community Care, the leading social care news website.
The consultant social worker – who chose to remain anonymous in order to protect the identity of service users – describes her working week supervising four first-year Think Ahead trainees while they are learning on the job in a community mental health team.
During the week, she gives practical support to the trainees as they seek to support and empower people with mental health problems. She also teaches them how to link their practical work to theory, law and professional values; and provides emotional support to one of them during a difficult day at work.
At the end of a challenging but rewarding week, the writer reflects: “There’s nothing like seeing how they grow in confidence, forge their identities as social work practitioners, and change lives under your guidance.”