Certificate in Systemic Social Work Practice with Children and Families
AFT accredited at Foundation Level
Course outline
Day 1
Welcome, introductions and setting the context:
- Introduction to systemic ideas and fit with children's social care context.
- Placing systemic theory and practice within historical context: Bateson through to current thinking.
Day 2
Constructing relationships, making connections between personal and professional:
- Developing engagement skills and practices that fit with a statutory context.
- Making connections between personal ideas and beliefs and how these influence the way in which relationships are constructed: the development of self-reflexivity.
Day 3
Making assessments using systemic concepts: the family life cycle, family scripts, and systemic formulations:
- Understanding the usefulness of the Family Life Cycle Model in making assessments with children, young people and their families.
- Applying the concept of family scripts to develop understanding of family functioning.
- Developing an awareness of how both our own beliefs and ideas about families, and the wider social context might impact upon the assessments and formulations that we make.
Day 4
Exploring attachment theory within the social care context in a systemic frame linking with mentalisation theory and practice.
- Understanding the usefulness of attachment theory within a systemic social work context using interactional awareness.
- Exploring how attachment theory links to family scripts, Family Life Cycle Model, managing transitions and the secure base both in social work practice and the organisational context.
- Developing an understanding of the limitations and critique of these theories within different cultural contexts.
Day 5
Using genograms as part of assessment and intervention in social work practice with children and families:
- Developing self-reflexivity through considering our own family and cultural genogram.
- Understanding how the use of genograms might add to an assessment through identification of relational patterns across generations and for developing hypotheses.
- Using the genogram as a systemic intervention towards relationship building and assessment.
Day 6
Incorporating First Order interventions into social work practice with children, young people and their families:
- Understanding and applying systemic approaches focused upon behaviour change: structural family therapy and strategic family therapy.
- Making connections between the above and evidence-based work with parents.
- Locating First Order approaches within a broader systemic theoretical framework.
Day 7
Applying the Milan and post-Milan systemic models into social work practice with children, young people and their families:
- Understanding the use and application of the three guidelines of hypothesising, circularity and neutrality within the Milan approach.
- Making connections to professional intentionality in relation to decision making and interventions within the social care context.
- Consider the use of a second order perspective to promote change at the level of family beliefs, values and meaning.
- Develop and practice using hypothesising as a form of intervention.
Day 8
Practice day and course review
- A day to take stock and review the course. Focus on developing practice skills in conducting a systemic interview with a family.
- Understanding and applying Post-Milan systemic ideas in social work practice: the use of the observing and reflective teams.
- Develop and practise using linear, strategic, reflexive and circular questions as a form of intervention.
Day 9
Developing relationships with families and professionals through taking relational risks and the concept of safe uncertainty in the assessment of risk:
- Development of an understanding of our own position in relation to risk and how this might influence our position and practice.
- The usefulness of systemic theory and practice in the assessment of child protection risk.
- To appreciate the idea of relational risk-taking and its connection to reflexivity in relationships and consider further the relationship as a site for change.
- To support reflexive abilities as an aid to better decision making.
- Consideration of the ethical dilemmas posed in assessment of risk within a statutory context.
Day 10
Social Constructionism and Co-ordinated Management of Meaning (CMM):
- Gain an understanding of Social Constructionism and the Co-ordinated Management of Meaning (CMM).
- Develop an understanding of the different tools and techniques within CMM.
- Consider the use of language and meaning systems in the construction and development of identity and relationships within the wider social context.
- Discussion about the research undertaken in the development of identities through language.
Day 11
Direct work with children using a Narrative approach/theory:
- Gain an understanding of the Narrative approach and be able to locate this within the development of systemic ideas.
- Develop an understanding of how to use Narrative approaches when working with families and children.
- Develop skills and techniques from Narrative approaches when assessing and managing risk.
Day 12
The Solution Focused approach in systemic social work and social care:
- Gain an understanding of the Solution-Focused approach and be able to locate this within the development of systemic ideas.
- Develop an understanding of how to use Solution-Focused approaches when working with children and families.
- Develop skills and techniques from Solution-Focused approaches in working with 'stuck' relationships.
Day 13
Using the Social GRRRAAACCEEESSS: working with power and violence
- Develop anti-oppressive practices through a systemic perspective and understanding of the wider context and multiple aspects of social division.
- Developing self and relational reflexivity in relation to power and difference.
- To consider the ethical issues in working with relationships in which there is violence and think about a systemic framework to guide our work.
Day 14
Working systemically with adult mental health issues:
- Gain an understanding of the Open Dialogue model as a systemic approach to working with adult mental health.
- To consider how a systemic approach to practice might manage risk whilst supporting families to make change.
- To consider how working systemically might be effective when adults have a mental health diagnosis, working from a research-led evidence base.
Day 15
Systemic interventions in writing and endings:
- Gain an understanding of how to use writing as a systemic intervention, communicating systemic ideas in assessments and reports.
- Develop an understanding of how to use therapeutic writing when working with families and children.
- Develop a systemic approach to ending relationships.
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