News

Monday
Arrive at work only to discover I’ve forgotten I am supposed to be on a training course on the other side of the city. Get there just in time for the inevitable icebreaker questions. Participants are required to not only give the usual details of names and workplaces but also to discuss which social work theory we have used most recently. I consider making my mobile phone ring and pretending there is an emergency at work only I can solve. Decide against it because the course is to remind us of theory and make us better able to help students link their studies to practice. Struggle to come up with anything but then remember the magic words “task-centred practice”. Successfully manage to blag my way through day one.

Tuesday
I am the only male on the course and confess I feel uneasy when what appears to be the most knowledgeable of my peers talks about her primarily using feminist theory in her work. I have no problem with feminism but I am still having flashbacks to my Diploma in Social Work course where men were regularly indicated to be the cause of society’s ills. This must be how young Germans feel when someone mentions the war - a mixture of guilty and innocent at the same time. The facilitator acknowledges my gender during our discussions. I was still hoping no one had noticed.

Wednesday
Back at work in the office. My spirits are lifted because of my new knowledge and feel I am better able to use what I already knew. My initial cynicism about the course was misplaced and I do some of the best work I’ve done in a long time. Either I can do social work in my sleep or I have been taught very well.

Thursday
The final day of the training course is marred by the news that a colleague has been dismissed and our union has arranged an emergency meeting. Fear an all-out strike may be imminent and our facilitator analyses the situation using systems theory. I am now totally in awe of the intelligence and effort she has devoted to our group. Despite the news about my colleague, I feel more confident in my job than I have done in years. The emergency meeting goes as expected. Union leader after union leader make increasingly over-dramatic speeches. The last speaker uses the sword of Damocles and Goliath in the same sentence.

Friday
I have to co-ordinate a Mental Health Act assessment today. My health colleagues always seem to save this type of work until Friday afternoons and it is late by the time I finish. On my journey home I desperately try and reflect on which theories I’ve just used. Can’t find one although I don’t spend very long trying. My mind wanders to the thought of a nice cold beer and I decide my reflective practice is best done in a public house with the help of some friends.