13
February 2019
“There’s nothing like seeing the participants change lives under your guidance”
A Think Ahead Consultant Social Worker (an experienced social worker supervising four of our participants) 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 participants while they are learning on the job in a Community Mental Health Team.
During the week, the Consultant Social Worker gives practical support to the participants as they seek to support and empower people with mental health problems. She also teaches the participants how to link their practical work to theory, law and professional values; and provides emotional support to a participant during a difficult day at work.
At the end of a challenging but rewarding week, the writer reflects: “There’s nothing like seeing how [the participants] grow in confidence, forge their identities as social work practitioners, and change lives under your guidance.”