Supervision: the much-needed anchor in a sea of turmoil

I have had an interesting history… I originally trained as a Physiotherapist. Not long after graduating I suffered a major Stroke which left me with significant physical impairments, one of which was that I lost the use of my vision. For me this ended my career as a physio and put me on a long … Read more

External Supervision – Just Do It!

For the last 3 years I have been supervised externally by someone not in my profession. I hadn’t thought anything of how this may differ from previous supervision at the time of seeking it – I was more interested in receiving supervision from someone independent from my workplace, their profession didn’t really come in to … Read more

The rediscovered value of frameworks

Over the course of my degree I can recall many a discussion between friends about the ‘abstractness’ of theoretical frameworks and whether, when qualified, we would ever really sit down and insert our thoughts and reasoning into a diagram full of haphazard blocks and arrows. Then as a newly qualified therapist, I did actually surprise … Read more

Exploring an alternative approach to support

I have been fortunate to have access to strong supervision throughout the majority of my speech and language therapy life. Reflecting on my supervision journey the high points have been when I have had a solid relationship with my supervisor; when the supervisor has been someone I have trusted and respected, and whom I have … Read more

Stepping back to step back in

Supervision. A word that used to fill me with confusion and at times anxiety. What do I say?  How do I react? What are they thinking?  Am I saying the wrong thing? Is this topic supervision-worthy? These were just some of the thoughts that used to swim around in my mind before and after the … Read more

From Hero to Zero

Today, I am a 42-year-old married woman with two small children (son – 4 and daughter – 8) doing a part time masters in HR and looking after the children, house and my husband with all the organising of clubs, playdates, school bags, bills and house maintenance etc. that entails. Ten years ago, before having … Read more

An experience with narrative therapy

Human’s are interpretative creatures which means as we move through our lives we create meaning. This steady accumulation of meaning, is articulated to us, the protagonists, in the form of stories. We have a host of stories about ourselves. A story about our relationships. A story about our work. A story about our time at … Read more

Spotlight on the Stammering Open Space

Lorraine: “I’ve loved attending the Open Space sessions. Mostly I’ve really enjoyed meeting people from different walks of life and being able to openly discuss some of the issues I face as a person who stammers. I was anxious about attending at first and think I found it difficult to identify myself as someone who stammers … Read more

Living with a Communication Disability: Insider Accounts

Throughout our MSc in Speech and Language Sciences at UCL we have been trained to use active listening. It’s a key clinical skill. As trainee SLTs we listen when we collaborate with clients to take case histories. But these are often about a snapshot in time. What happens when clients complete assessment and intervention? How … Read more

Judged Response

One afternoon, whilst speaking to my closest friend Errin Yesilkaya, we wanted to do something. Just something. An exhibition sprung to mind, then I must have stammered shortly after this revelation. There we have it. Judged Response, an exhibition which places explicit focus on stammering, celebrating the differences of those people who stammer, demonstrating these … Read more