Spotlight – Lessons for Living

“Where there are people, there will be problems, but there will also be potential” is a key part of Neil’s work. And that is precisely what this manual is all about – equipping practitioners from various professional disciplines to help people address their problems and realise their potential. Part One provides an extended essay on the nature and significance of problem solving to lay solid foundations of understanding. Part Two then offers guidance on using 101 problem-solving tools that can be used in a wide variety of circumstances.

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A Career in Social Work: Part biography, part overview of social work careers

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Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Take account of trauma

The term ‘trauma’ is often used in a very loose and ‘watered down’ way to refer to any difficult or distressing situation. However, in its technical sense, trauma refers to a wound (physical or psychological) that has lasting effects. We are now realizing more fully that so many of the mental health problems that people encounter are linked to earlier experiences of one or more traumas. Indeed, difficulties in life more broadly will often have their roots in trauma. So, if we are working with people in any sort of supportive or supervisory way, we would do well to ask ourselves whether trauma is playing any part in the situation – particularly those situations that are proving problematic or challenging in some way.

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The Authentic Leader A new approach to leadership in Neil’s important book.

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The changing workplace: Enabling disability-inclusive hybrid working

The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally shifted the way in which people work, with a rise in remote and hybrid working. While many workers, businesses and sectors have benefited from changing working practices during the pandemic, disabled people bore the brunt of the pandemic’s economic consequences and experienced higher rates of unemployment and redundancies than non-disabled people.

Just 52.7% of disabled people are in employment, compared with 81% of non-disabled people. A key driver of the disability employment gap is workplace inflexibility. Pre-pandemic, many employers were reluctant to allow remote or hybrid working, even as a reasonable adjustment for disabled workers. However, as the pandemic led to compulsory remote working for most desk-based workers, we are now seeing employer plans change.

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LinkedIn: Connect online & join Neil Thompson’s HUMANSOLUTIONS discussion group

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The challenges of creating gender-inclusive birthing services

As society’s understanding of gender and sex evolves, our use of language evolves, too. Maternity wards and pregnancy care have, traditionally, largely used language oriented around women: the word ‘maternity’ itself, for one, but also ‘midwife’, ‘matron’, or ‘sister’. And while cisgender women remain the primary patients in such services, a rising number of trans and non-binary people, who may not identify as women, are also engaging with pregnancy planning and birth-related services,

Being excluded by the language used in birthing settings could lead to these parents feeling othered by the experience of bringing a child into the world, and potentially plant the seed for further-reaching mental health impacts. With giving birth being as stressful as it is, plus the risk of post-partum mental health struggles, efforts should be made to give all patients the best standard of care available. A new study by a UK-based research team explored the experiences, opinions, and educational needs of perinatal staff as related to the needs of trans and non-binary service users

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A fresh look at social work theory and methods

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Seth Godin’s blog – Childish or childlike?

Childlike involves wonder. It’s the ability to see the world with fresh eyes and create magic.

Childish, on the other hand, is living as if there are no consequences.

Over time, we’ve gotten very good at measuring the long and short-term consequences of our actions. And good at ignoring them.

Adults do well when they seek to be childlike, and that’s possible without being childish.

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If you’re a social worker come join us in the Social Work Focus Facebook group!

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Spotlight – The Care of Older People Practice Manual

A key text for challenging ageism and promoting dignified practice. Dr Sue Thompson presents invaluable guidance on how to take care of older people in positive empowering ways that avoid common ageist assumptions and practices. This is an essential guide to good practice in eldercare.

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Learn with Neil Thompson: Sign up to Neil’s YouTube channel

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Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Don’t drop hints

Speaking openly and honestly is more likely to be effective than dropping hints. This is because: (i) people often don’t tune in to the hint; it goes over their head; and (ii) if they do get it, they may resent it – they may feel that you are trying to manipulate them, rather than communicate with them in a genuine way. Despite these problems with hinting, it is a very common occurrence for people to risk alienating others in this way. Learning and practising the skills involved in sensitive and tactful direct communication without ruffling anyone’s feathers are much wiser steps to take.

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How to Do Social Work: A basic guide from one of social work’s leading authors

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CIPD resourcing and talent planning report

The CIPD’s 2022 Resourcing and talent planning report, produced in partnership with Omni RMS, explores the difficulties that UK employers are facing in recruiting and retaining people during the cost-of-living crisis. Now in its 23rd year, the report and supplementary case studies help employers and their people teams make informed decisions about people management and investment. While these findings are based on UK data, the broader trends and implications should be of interest wherever you are based.

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Facebook: Connect with Neil Thompson on Facebook

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Stigma sucks: Addressing stigma to overcome poverty

I’m part of the ‘Exploring Stigma and Poverty’ design team, a group that’s been created to look at the issue of stigma and the impact it has on poverty. Our discussions and exploration have been deep as well as wide-ranging. When we met in January 2023 we looked at the impact stigma has on society as a whole, but also on us as individuals. We called this latter part, ‘making visible the invisible’ as we feel that there is little focus on how damaging stigma is on the individuals that experience it.

We drew on our collective experience of stigma. This took some of us back to our childhoods. It’s been a very reflective experience and really made me think about how many times I’ve been beaten down by stigma in my life. Reflecting can be difficult and challenging; it definitely triggers emotions that as humans we file away. At first I felt emotionally drained after our sessions, but, as these went on, I realised how important the work is and I also realised how important my personal lived experience is to the research we are doing. So, I’ve committed myself to be open fully to talking about my pain and suffering in the hopes that this might ease this for others.

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Sociological insights to help understand people’s lives and their challenges

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