The Latest Bulletin

January 12, 2022

Spotlight – The Problem Solver’s Practice Manual

“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.

Available from here or Amazon

The Professional Social Worker: An essential text for all social workers

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January 12, 2022

Boundaries of responsibility

There are some things that each one of us is responsible for – that is, they are individual responsibilities.  I have to do what I have to do and you have to do what you have to do. Some things are shared responsibilities – that is, we have to do them together. Teamwork is a good example of this. Developing effective teamwork is the responsibility of every team member, not just the leader. Then there are also responsibilities that belong to other people – they are not mine, they are not yours, they are not ours. It is important to be aware of these boundaries as it can be quite problematic and potentially stressful if: (i) we do not fulfil our individual responsibilities; (ii) we do not contribute to our shared responsibilities; or (iii) we overload ourselves by taking on responsibilities that are not ours, that belong elsewhere. The detrimental consequences of losing sight of these boundaries can be quite significant.

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Connect with Neil Thompson online! For Neil's blog and more resources

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January 12, 2022

What is person-centred care and why is it important?

Person-centred care is a way of thinking and doing things that sees the people using health and social services as equal partners in planning, developing and monitoring care to make sure it meets their needs. This means putting people and their families at the centre of decisions and seeing them as experts, working alongside professionals to get the best outcome.

Person-centred care is not just about giving people whatever they want or providing information. It is about considering people’s desires, values, family situations, social circumstances and lifestyles; seeing the person as an individual, and working together to develop appropriate solutions.

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Twitter: Follow Neil Thompson on Twitter

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January 12, 2022

Meet the UNICEF Youth Advocates of 2021

Our global cohort of young voices and faces comprises thought leaders with diverse goals. From bridging the digital divide in education to fighting climate change to championing LGBTQI+ rights and social justice, these young advocates are speaking out and taking action for children and adolescent rights.

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Ensuring every older person is treated with dignity as a unique individual

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January 12, 2022

Children of prisoners – Fixing a broken system

When the criminal justice system and the courts put a parent in prison, it generates problems for the child(ren),
family members, schools and children’s services. But the two arms of the state don’t speak to each other.
There is no system to facilitate communication between the courts which sentence people and bodies with
responsibilities for children. It is not beyond the wit of public services to join the dots, and the impact on the
welfare of children would be profound were they to do so.

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It’s all about people: visit Neil Thompson’s humansolutions website

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December 13, 2021

Spotlight – The Neil Thomposn Academy

Have you joined the Neil Thompson Academy yet?. There you will find information about Neil’s books, e-learning provision and his other services. Membership is free and gives access to a growing number of free learning resources. Don’t miss out, sign up today at www.NeilThompson.info.

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

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December 13, 2021

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Negotiate your workload

My Time and Workload Management e-learning course emphasizes that too much work is too much work – that is, everyone has a limit to how much they can get done in a given timeframe. However, some people get themselves into difficulties by taking on everything that comes their way. They feel obliged to say yes to everything even if this means they may become overloaded to the point that they risk becoming stressed and possibly practising dangerously because of that. A key skill, then, is being able to successfully negotiate our workload. If we take on more than we can reasonably cope with then we are likely to achieve far less than if we had kept our workload within manageable limits, and we also risk things going tragically wrong. Some people find it very difficult to be assertive about their workload limits, but allowing ourselves to get into that dangerous overload zone is very unwise.

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

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December 13, 2021

Researchers want to create safe, inclusive virtual reality hangouts for teens

The advent of the internet shifted how we socialise. Chat rooms, forums, and eventually social media platforms opened up new ways to both communicate and express ourselves. Online anonymity, for example, allowed us to be whoever we pleased to anyone with a connection — for better or worse. Psychological research followed this shift, and decades later there are troves of papers on almost every aspect of online interaction you could hope to explore.

As technology continues to march onwards, it’s brought with it increasingly accessible options for socialising in virtual reality (VR). Though VR is by definition virtual, the experiences users have in it are very much real. Since VR’s accessibility is so recent, we currently don’t have good understanding of what users get out of socialising in these spaces, or even a solid grasp of potential risks associated with them. With rapidly increasing uptake, especially in a time of mass isolation, that’s a pretty big blind spot.

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

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December 13, 2021

Lived experience influencing policy – How we did it

A group of people with lived experience of poverty have enjoyed success in their campaign for their voices and experiences to be included in policy discussions, debates and solutions. Group member Tracey Herrington tells their story.

The Poverty2Solutions journey began over three years ago. Three grassroots organisations led by people with lived experience of poverty (ATD Fourth World, Dole Animators and Thrive Teesside) teamed up with Dr Ruth Patrick from the University of York and graphic designer Dan Farley to share and merge their expertise. Our aspiration is to ensure that the voice of lived experience is taken seriously and can inform decisions that have an impact on the lives of people in low-income communities.

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A fresh look at social work theory and methods

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