A couple of weeks back, at the ASLTIP conference, I led a session about how to start a speech and language therapy blog. I knew I didn’t want to stand and talk for an hour, so I included activities as we went along, which I hoped would leave attendees ready to write their first blog post when they got home. Continue reading
Since setting up in independent practice I’ve had almost weekly emails from people who want to train as speech and language therapists. They explain they need to gain relevant work experience and ask if they can come and shadow me during therapy sessions with my clients. Continue reading
I’m in a transition phase; I’ve left my NHS role and started work as an independent therapist. I find change tricky. I had an interesting conversation with Abi Roper and Tom Starr-Marshall that made me think — why is change in the NHS so difficult? And in a solution-focused kind of way, what makes particular projects successful?
Looking back, there was a pattern to my attempts at service development (try and follow along with the diagram!):
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When I remember the therapy package I offered “Freddy”, I wince. Over 18 months, I gave him four six-week blocks of therapy: 24 sessions in all. When I eventually discharged Freddy, he still couldn’t consistently produce velars—and worse, he still didn’t care. Even though his parents realised that I didn’t have a magic wand, they didn’t practise with him at home. So I didn’t achieve my objective and I wasted several precious days—days I could’ve used working with other clients. I had clients on a waiting list who were ready to engage with therapy and work towards realistic targets. What a waste.
The Therapy Ideas Workshop, Get Control of Your Time and be More Productive by Prioritising Your Caseload is on 12 October at Sadler’s Wells in London. That’s a Friday–so it’s a perfect excuse for a weekend away!
With caseload and waiting list sizes increasing and staff teams shrinking, life for speech and language therapists is tough at the moment. We’re struggling to juggle large numbers of clients and mountains of paperwork while trying to provide a quality service.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of this, you should join me for the Therapy Ideas Workshop in London on 12 October 2012. This full day workshop will help you get control of your time and gain perspective by prioritising your caseload. You’ll improve your productivity, reduce stress, and learn how to negotiate expectations with clients, managers and yourself!
We’ll have interactive presentations, practical activities, round-table discussions, and case studies. We’ll focus on gaining perspective by getting real about our commitments, prioritising, setting boundries and collaborating. I’m excited to be leading this full-day workshop at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. It’s a bright, airy space with Internet access and plenty of coffee. Lunch is included, and you even get a discount on tickets to the dance shows!
The early bird price of £139 is available until 31 August, so check out the details, including the learning outcomes, and book now.
I’m looking forward to workshopping with you!
Photograph by BrittneyBush