On 23th November 2024 we launched Supervision in Speech and Language Therapy: Personal Stories and Professional Wisdom, an anthology of personal narratives that aims to stimulate reflection on contemporary issues in supervision as well as individual, service and organisational supervision culture and practice. Co-editors Cathy Sparkes, Sam Simpson and Deborah Harding enjoyed a stimulating evening … Read more
I have been a qualified British Sign Language/English interpreter since 2008 – however, since professional supervision is not mandatory within interpreting, it was some time into my career before I came across it. When I did embark on a supervisory relationship, the value of my monthly sessions became apparent very quickly, and this led me … Read more
I am a British Sign Language/English Interpreter who has been offering Professional Supervision since gaining a Diploma in Supervision in 2016. In August 2021, a tweet by @_intandem, describing an Advanced Programme of supervision workshops, caught my eye. I was keen to develop my creative practice and here was intandem offering a day’s training focussing … Read more
Today, I am a 68-year-old retired Speech and Language Therapist, enjoying a fulfilling life encompassing a number of roles: wife, mother, grandmother, artist and volunteer in two groups for stroke survivors with communication impairment. Six years ago I was struggling with the concept of retiring from a hectic Band 8 SLT post in a large … Read more
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
If someone had said to me few years ago that I would one day write a blog about something I am extremely conscious of, I would have laughed out loud! But here I am and this means a big step for me. As long as I can remember, I have always stammered. I remember when … Read more
I must admit I arrived with a little apprehension, this was the first time I had attended a public event related to stammering. I was aware that I was wearing two hats, as a person who stammers and a psychologist who has a special interest in working with PWS. The opening remarks by Mark Malcomson … Read more
Disclosing one’s stammer is easy they say… vital I say. In fact it is very much a technique I subscribe to, use frequently and encourage others to try. Imagine going into a stressful situation, an interview for example; walk through the door, friendly handshake, introductions gone well, half way through the first question, BLOCK. No … Read more
As a speech and language therapist who works in the field of stuttering who doesn’t stutter, I’ve lately taken an interest in the notion of “dysfluency pride” or “stuttering pride”. I have been drawn to “stuttering pride” because of the similarities I see in the “gay pride” movement. As a gay man who felt a … Read more
Dom: ‘Post brain injury life is about staying busy and in touch with the world. To that end one of the things I go to is a group set up by my counsellor Cathy that we tentatively call ‘Culture Club’. No, we don’t sit around and discuss Boy George! Once every two months a group … Read more