On Our Mind
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides integrated healthcare services including intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire.
Our On Our Minds blog shares lived experiences from colleagues at the Trust and patients who use or have used our services on a variety of topics from a wide range of services.
Celebrating World Social Work Day: “I could not see myself doing any other job.”
To celebrate World Social Work Day, Lynsey Mirfield, Social Work Practitioner at Arnold Lodge, shares more about her role and how she has made a difference to the patients she has supported and cared for.
" I have been a social worker for over 25 years. Prior to coming to Arnold lodge in Leicester in 2019, I was a child protection social worker for 18 years. Certainly, when I came into a forensic setting those skills and knowledge I have learned and developed were very transferrable.
"My role working on the male personality disorder pathway is extremely rewarding whilst also challenging. The best aspect is developing those good therapeutic relationships with my patients and supporting patients' relationships with their carers and families and external professionals. Also, working within a multidisciplinary team (MDT) which is incredibly supportive and one in which collaborative working is key in gaining the best outcomes for our patients. Encouraging patients to be proactive in their recovery journeys and have their voices heard. Safeguarding is also a huge part of my role one in which transparency, prompt decision-making and safeguarding measures are put in place.
"My recent highlights have been facilitating contact between a patient who had not seen his father in 6 years and seeing how positive and rewarding this was for him. A further visit was one where a patient had contact with his 89-year grandmother who has dementia and is in a care home. I have also gained a lot from co-facilitating a 12-month treatment programme called 'Lives Versus Violence' focusing on sexually harmful behaviours. This has not only offered me the opportunity to develop my insight into this area but also support patients to understand themselves further looking at their triggers, childhood abuse/ trauma and future protective factors. One patient described the group as being the 'best treatment programme he had done, one in which he learnt a lot about himself.
"Social work for me is something where I am always learning, I describe everyday as 'a school day'. I could not see myself doing any other job and although it is pressurised at times and there are never enough hours in the day, I wouldn't do anything else."
If you have been inspired by Lynsey's story and are interested in social work career opportunities, please visit our recruitment website.
Rate this page or report a problem
