Since I developed The Silent Session framework, I have offered it to thousands of individuals when they are hesitant to share their issue or have been referred reluctantly. As I have said elsewhere, often it is an engagement tool - clients immediately know that I am not setting out to analyze them … [Read more...]
Covid-19 Blog that I never posted
I just came across this blog in my Blog Draft file from early into the Pandemic. Ironically it is now April 2022, Covid-19 is still with us, at the time of writing, hospitals are still overwhelmed and a huge chunk of us are fully vaccinated but mindsets are mostly different. Reading this now, it is … [Read more...]
Police “Stop & Help” Resource
I was making my notes for this Blog about how we could possibly look differently at the Police Stop & Search practice and switched the radio on. Lo and behold there was a discussion, hosted by David Lammy MP on LBC, about Knife Crime and the police Stop & Search … [Read more...]
Instant mental health resource for schools……
This month, the UK government announced £300million funding for the provision of mental health interventions in schools and colleges. Funding for mental health resources are always a good thing - as is this. However, I would suggest that before schools and colleges go rushing off to … [Read more...]
Saluting Ferndale Roots…….
If you went strolling in the streets where you live, this evening and asked yourself "what could I do to improve the area for everyone?" and then listed what you could do to contribute to that - what would it be? When I do the stroll, it's usually in someone else's community on my travels. I … [Read more...]
You’re nobody till somebody……wants your vote
Yesterday evening was a cold, windy, rainsoaked event and I was weighing up whether to complete my journey home, stop at a restaurant or pop into a local pub for a warming whiskey. I think it was the gale that blew me home rather than any decision I made. As I turned the corner I saw a group of … [Read more...]
Troubled Families? Why there is no time to quibble about the title…..
There is currently much quibbling about the title that central government has given to Louise Casey's remit to work with families who cause difficulties for themselves, their children and the wider community. In the past this group have been referred to as "Challenging Families", "Chaotic Families", … [Read more...]
Early Intervention – a luxury when its Universal but essential when its Targeted
Early Intervention has been a buzz-word in social care for some years and is again a focus of central government. The definition however, is understood differently by a whole range of professionals. A Report from C4Eo and the Association of Director of Children's Services defined Early … [Read more...]
How to get people to talk about themselves
Because the word "therapy" is attached to the model I use, I am often asked by people, outside of my field, how I get people to talk about their problems. I usually respond with a screwed up face: getting people to talk about their problems is not my aim. Encouraging people to answer questions … [Read more...]
The man from the Salvation Army…….
Yesterday morning I answered the telephone and a woman said "I'm trying to find a Befriender - do you still do this?" I asked whether she had the wrong number and she explained that she had found us on the internet connected to a Mental Health Befriending Service in London but she thought it … [Read more...]
