My first week

Posted by Carolyn on 29 May 2010 | 1 Comments
Tags: Family Project

I have now officially been working at TACSI, on the Family Project, for one week!  It’s been an amazing week of discovery and finding new ways to look at the world.  My last 8 years have been spent working with and supporting families through assessment and applying social work theory, models and frameworks to what my staff or I observed.  We drew our own conclusions from our observations and then moved in a direction or connected the family with the best fit. Whilst I have always been a firm believer in transparency and honest mutual respect with families, I can see now that there is still so much more room for growth.  The past families I have worked with have been extremely complex with traumatic histories and long standing relationships with agencies such as Families SA, Housing SA and Centrelink. 

With this new opportunity I can see the potential to create something or more importantly be a part of something that families create for themselves.  Something that they identify as a “best fit” as opposed to my own diagnosis of what would be best.   Last night I felt privileged to be a part of a dinner with a family who are part of the “Look” phase of our project.  As I sat in the corner and observed what was happening around me I was overwhelmed by the potential that existed within the room.  I took off my Social Worker hat and just had conversations, person to person, no theories, no models – just conversation.  I think I walked away knowing more about that family in one evening than any formal interview could ever tell me.  

So in one week I can already tell you that the way I interact with families or “be with” families will never quite be the same – whether that be in a statutory or non-statutory context.   I have no doubt that every hour of every day will bring new lessons and learning for me and I look forward to sharing the ride with you!