On March 1st, my family and I embarked on an incredible adventure: a 12-month 'big lap' around Australia.

I thought I’d share some of the journey with you, as I navigate life and work on the road. I want to share the highs and lows, and even some lessons I learn along the way.

We're bombarded with quick fixes and lots of self care talk about exercising, eating well and ensuring work life balance (I should mention these are all great things!) But the truth is, self-care is a personal journey that requires dedication, self-awareness, reflection and the right tools. And I am no stranger to this process!

A team around us can provide the much-needed support, accountability, and guidance that enables us to deliver our best work while maintaining our well-being. If you are struggling in your work then this could be a great place to start to build this team around you

As Social Workers and helping professionals, we face unique challenges that require us to effectively manage our emotions and maintain our well-being. The Three Emotional Regulation Systems model developed by Paul Gilbert offers valuable insights into understanding and nurturing our emotional experiences.

I’ve found this model useful to use as a tool to find balance and prevent burnout in my career.

There are times in our life that leave us feeling pretty ‘meh’ with our job, we’ve lost some of that passion, we’re not getting the same fulfilment from our work or things are annoying us way more than normal.

I’ve put together some tips that I’ve found help me, but also that help those I supervise and coach.

Coaching is an exciting process where you set clear and inspiring goals and through the process are motivated, inspired, held accountable to the goals that you set and of ultimately make lasting changes that support your career and general wellbeing too.

If you have been wondering if coaching is right for you, here are 4 reasons to consider coaching:

Embarking on a new role in Child Protection can be both exciting and nerve wracking, whether you are a new graduate starting out, changing direction or starting a new role. Through my roles in leadership within organisations and also as a Professional Supervisor, I have seen people start a job only to find it’s not …

Our supervision time is valuable! While it can be quite normal to be led by your supervisor in your supervision sessions, it’s important to remember that supervision is a two way relationship. We have the right but also an obligation to get the most out of our supervision and to direct it in a way …

The concept of fast and slow thinking was termed by Daniel Kahneman in his book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’. Kahneman talks about two types of thinking; System 1 thinking or ‘fast thinking’ and System 2 thinking or ‘slow thinking’. There are strengths and weaknesses to both types of thinking and so ideally we want to …

We all from time to time forget why we got into Social Work and Child Protection in the first place. Maybe you’ve looked at the student or new graduate in the office and thought ‘I remember those days’ and then ‘it wont take long before reality hits them just like the rest of us’. Things …

I have had my moments over the last two months where I have felt out of control and have been angry, sad, despondent – you name it! However, after doing some self reflection, I came to a realisation that I was spending most of my time focusing on all the things I couldn’t control, such …

For this blog I am referring to Professional Supervision, which is supervision that occurs outside of your place of work. Supervision remains a pivotal role in Social Work and Child Protection work but how many of us can say that we receive all of the necessary functions of supervision that we need to be strong …

When I heard that most Social Workers and Child Protections workers were being encouraged to work from home as much as possible, my mind automatically went to Vicarious Trauma and how the change to how we work might impact on how we experience Vicarious Trauma. Vicarious Trauma (VT) is defined as indirect exposure to trauma …

World Social Work Day 2020 is Tuesday 17th March, and is an opportunity for us to share the positive impact that Social Work has, both on our own lives and on society. This year the theme of World Social Work day is the Importance of Human Relationships. International Federation of Social Workers Secretary-General, Rory Truell …

Sometimes it’s hard for us to see hope in the work that we do, we see horrible things done to people (both by individuals and systemically too). It can seem as though things just won’t get better or we won’t see changes in our lifetime. I’ve noticed that I can feel particularly hopeless when reflecting …

If you asked everyone in social work, case work and other allied professions what supervision was called there would be many differing opinions; clinical supervision, professional supervision, peer supervision, external supervision, group supervision or just plain old supervision to name a few. What exactly is supervision? The definition of supervision is complex and to those …