A PDF version of a book developed by North East Kinship Carers and Kim Hall within which Kinship Carers share their stories can be read here…

 

Rachel shares her personal account of moving to Newcastle and accessing support through a local women’s organisation. You can read Rachel’s story here…

The Practitioner Client: How do you manage when both terms apply? By Jack. (April 2016). Read the article here…

Steve O’Driscoll facilitates a group for people who self-harm. This article explores why people self-harm as well as some of the ways that people can respond to self harming. Read the full article here.

Did you know that 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during their lifetime? Read the article here…

 

Oversimplification Stigma in Mental Illness by Jack  (January 2017). Read the article here…

Reflections on Work Capability Assessments by Stephen (April 2016). Read the article here…

Be political, if only by crossing a box… read the full article here

If you’re involved in social work, you may wish to use a mind map to help you think more clearly about how to improve the lives of people in your care. In my experience, as a User of Social Services in Newcastle, mind maps were the most useful tool that helped social workers to rebuild my life from scratch after I was injured in the workplace. The result of using this social work intervention has been a dramatic improvement in my quality of life.

Download Using Mind Maps in Social Work

Since sharing my anti-depression Wall of Self-Worth on Facebook and Twitter, I’ve had hundreds of likes, RTs and shares, and more than 50 very positive comments. I was diagnosed with “catatonic depression” back in 1971, suicide attempt in 1974, psoriatic arthritis in 1984 – but I’m still going strong, and my anti-depression Wall of Self-Worth works for me – photo taken on my 70th birthday!

I started with a copy of my birth certificate, birthchart and family tree – then photos of me and my son, when each were young boys – a print-out of my honest CV, ways I’ve earned money and volunteering I’ve done, a couple of job references. Then all the certificates I could find: my degree (very Ordinary!), computer programming (just scraped it!), a business start-up, pulmonary rehabilitation – two of the poems and a couple of articles I’ve had published, letters from charities I’ve fundraised for or donated to, some writings from my astrology hobby, and letters and cards of thanks from people I’ve helped over the years.

I hope others who have a problem valuing or liking themselves will be encouraged to try making their own, starting small (I had an advantage, having lived so long!), maybe with the help of a friend …  you could include photos of good time, a list of happy memories, any thank you cards people have sent you – in fact anything that makes you feel good about yourself …

Now, every day when I wake up, it’s the first thing I see.  And it makes it just that much more difficult to stay deep down depressed.  The record of a life of someone who made mistakes but has tried his best.

 

 

David shares some of his artwork and why he began painting in this article. You can see more of his work below.

 

Reflections on a lecture given to the year one social work students by Peter Beresford. By Paul Brewer, BSc Social Work Student. (January, 2017). Read the article here…

Advice for social work students who are just starting out on their course. By Allana Stanton-Simms, BSc Social Work Student. (January 2017). Read the article here…