In the conclusion to their book, Jane Stokes and Marian McCormick wrote that they hope it makes you think “Hmmm…” – it certainly does.

As Jane and Marion designed the curriculum for a new postgraduate course in speech and language therapy they collected stories, and then wrote this book to add to the conversation about issues that underlie the SLT profession. The book has 10 chapters, 5 written by Jane and Marian, and 5 contributed by other people. It raises challenging questions and explicitly invites the reader to examine their professional beliefs.

There are a number of chapters I’m looking forward to re-reading and think I’ll review regularly. Marian’s chapter about reflective practice inspired me, and reminded me that one outcome of reflection needs to be a goal for the future. Aoife Gallagher’s chapter “To intervene or not to intervene” had me nodding with agreement. I’ve been considering the role of parental expectations, fear and anxieties in my own clinical work so was interested to read Aoife’s ideas about how to make services transparent and responsive.

In her chapter about supervision Jane introduces models from related fields, that we in speech and language therapy can learn from. Keena Cummins’ chapter on using video clarified issues I’d been struggling with in my therapy sessions. Her analysis of the value of face watching and mirroring between adults made me reflect on some recent interactions with parents. I hadn’t considered the link between spirituality and speech and language therapy. I enjoyed Sophie MacKenzie’s chapter on this topic, which discussed the narratives clients use at different points in the therapeutic journey and person-centred care.

I was scribbling down thoughts and questions as I read this book and enjoyed how it encouraged me to consider why I do what I do. If you’re a therapist who enjoys asking why and getting stuck in to some interesting discussions, I think you’ll enjoy this book. 

The book includes quote from students of Jane and Marian’s course, I was stunned by how insightful they were. If you’re looking to hire a new grad keep your eye out for therapists from the University of Greenwich!

I’m supervising two new graduate Speech and Language Therapists. They’re thoughtful and skilled clinicians who’ve taught me a lot. It’s a difficult time to be starting out in the NHS — just scheduling supervision sessions is a challenge.

When I started working as an SLT I remember feeling like I’d been thrown in the deep end while still getting support from my new colleagues. I’m trying to give my new graduates a similar experience. Learning can be uncomfortable, and that’s okay, but I don’t want them to drown.

I’ve been reflecting on how things are going and realised:

The new graduates sometimes don’t know what they don’t know – so unpicking what they’re really asking is often my first step.

They’re trying to demonstrate their independence and not make too many mistakes. I remember the internal monologue: can I ask my supervisor this question? Should I already know the answer? I’ve asked her 7 questions already this morning, is that too many? Again, it’s about balance.

They have different learning styles. Some people might find it hard to remember details about children they saw a while back. Observing their therapy sessions and feeding back immediately afterwards can work well. Other therapists are more detail focussed and benefit from support to see how decisions about individual children affect the service as a whole.

I find Brene Brown’s Engaged Feedback Checklist is a useful resource. I’ve been focussing on sitting next to, rather than across from the graduates, recognising their strengths and trying to model vulnerability.

Do you have effective strategies for supervising graduates in their first role? Can you remember what helped the most when you started out? Let me know!

Photograph by easylocum.

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.

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