Ask yourself this question: Am I looking after myself enough in these challenging times? If your answer is ‘no’ or ‘not sure’ then read on!

The service you work in is probably being exposed to job cuts, a reduction in CPD funding and the demand to maintain clinical standards with ever-shrinking resources. In the midst of this you still need to put yourself first by making sure you’re receiving the quantity and quality of supervision you need. Over the past decade we have been supporting SLTs to access and provide good quality supervision. However, we often find that people don’t know what supervision is, have never experienced it or think they haven’t got time for it.

Did you know that the RCSLT has recently revised their supervision guidelines? For those of you who are RCSLT members, you can read the document online.

The RCSLT differentiates between the following two forms of supervision:

1. Line management supervision: which includes topics related to person specification, job description, caseload management, individual performance reviews, adherence to professional standards, and CPD.
2. Clinical (non-managerial) supervision: which includes reflections on interventions, issues around the therapeutic relationship, and enabling the supervisee to talk about areas of their work that they’d like to be more effective in.

Specific reference is made to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) which states:

“as an autonomous professional you need to make informed, reasoned decisions about your practice to ensure that you meet the standards that apply to you. This includes seeking advice and support from education providers, employers, colleagues and others to ensure that the wellbeing of service users is safeguarded at all times”

(HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Speech and Language Therapists)

If you’re interested in finding out more about supervision and want to reflect on your current supervisory arrangement, we regularly run training courses. Read all the details about our next course, on 15th February 2013, on our website.

We’re changing the format for the next event, so therapists can discuss their ideas and share their experiences. I’m excited to announce the next Therapy Ideas Live event will be a debate – Redesigning Service Delivery for a Changing World: Taking Responsibility for the Future of Speech & Language Therapy.

The debate will feature Kate Malcomess, Sally Shaw, and Kim Lewis, and is taking place as part of the RCSLT’s Giving Voice Campaign. It’s on 26 June 2012, at The Mermaid Conference Centre, London, 6.00 – 9.30 pm.

Changing Landscape

New commissioning regimes, reduced budgets, and growing caseloads: like it or not, Speech and Language Therapy is changing, and there’s no going back. Let’s tackle this challenge together, by learning from each other, listening to contrasting expert perspectives, and taking an active role in redesigning service delivery for the future of our profession.

We’ll hear from three featured speakers, debate what we’ve heard, and discuss experiences and challenges in small groups. Come along, and meet other therapists who are trying to make positive changes.

Get Your Ticket Now

Tickets are £10 and limited so get yours now. Check out all the details and buy your ticket!

With some friends and colleagues I’m trying something new: an evening of informal and informative lightning-style talks presented by ten SLTs from a range of backgrounds. Broaden your perspective, learn from others, share your own experiences, and socialise over a glass of wine—it’s a more inspiring version of CPD!

The first Therapy Ideas Live is happening on the evening of 5th July 2011, hosted at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in London. Ten amazing speakers–including Gina Davies, Marie Gascoigne, and Stephen Parsons–will each present for 5 minutes, with slides that advance automatically. Find out more on the event page.

Amazingly, all 50 free tickets for this event sold out within 24 hours, and we closed the waiting list when 50 more people had signed up. Thanks for your support! We plan to film the presentations and share them on this website.

We’re also planning another event at City University in the autumn. Register your interest and be the first to hear when tickets are released. And if you fancy sharing your experience, perspective, case study, or challenge, send us your talk idea using this form. You don’t need experience of public speaking: anyone can give a lightning talk (read this post for some handy tips), and we’ll give you plenty of help.

You can follow the event live on twitter, using the hashtag #therapyideas.

See you there!