Conference 2004

general | keynote speakers | workshop information

Workshop information

Penny Leake – Power, precariousness and pebbles: keeping creativity in supervision

Workshop aims:

• To give participants a new way of thinking about some of the theories and practice of supervision through the use of concrete images
• To think about issues of power and safety in the supervision of work with children
• To give participants the chance to watch a demonstration of how supervision can be kept creative through methods such as the use of stone (need for a volunteer and an agreement about confidentiality)

Penny Leake is a registered BACP Counsellor and Supervisor. She has been counselling for nearly 25 years, the last 13 years being with children and young people. This has been both in statutory and voluntary settings and areas of work have included substance misuse, post sexual abuse, bereavements and work with Looked After Children. For the last eight years she has specialised in the supervision of play therapy and counselling. Penny spent seven years managing Gateshead Council's Therapeutic Services for Children and Families, but now divides her time between job-share managing a Barnado's therapeutic project and working freelance as a supervisor and counsellor.

Colin Lago – Diversity and race

Workshop aims to offer participants an opportunity to explore:

• The intersection of the issues of race, diversity and identity
• As they impact upon the counsellor's personal and political beliefs
• To consider these implications for therapeutic work

Colin Lago was Director of the Counselling Service at the University of Sheffield from 1987–2003. He now works as an independent counsellor, trainer, supervisor and consultant. Trained initially as an engineer, Colin went on to become a full time youth worker in London and then a teacher in Jamaica. He is a Fellow of BACP, an accredited counsellor and trainer and UKRC registered practitioner. Deeply committed to "transcultural concerns" he has had articles, videos and books published on the subject.

Elizabeth Gilchrist – Domestic Violence

This workshop will review research data relating to children and domestic violence, particularly considering implications for services. This will be linked with data or characteristics of perpetrators and needs of women to allow discussion of the need to further develop multi-agency working in the domestic violence area.

Dr Elizabeth Gilchrist is a Chartered Forensic Psychologist and a Principal Lecturer and Research head at Coventry University. She also provides expert evidence on domestic violence cases and co-facilitates perpetrator groups. Dr Gilchrist has recently completed a number of both national and local studies on domestic violence, looking at the same from a perpetrator and victim / survivor perspective.

Maggie Neukomm – Counselling in an independent boarding school: working as part of a pastoral care team

Workshop aims:

To gain understanding of the different issues encountered when counselling in an independent boarding school. The workshop will cover issues such as :

• Counselling young people who live away from home
• Working as part of a pastoral care team
• Managing to set safe working boundaries for both the pupil and the school

Maggie Neukomm has been working as a counsellor for twenty three years, but has specialised in working in education for the past nine years, both in single sex and co-educational, multi-cultural Independent Boarding Schools with young people between the ages of seven and eighteen years old.

With a background in nursing sick children, fostering teenagers, marriage guidance counselling and lecturing in social care, working with and counselling young people this allows Maggie to draw on much of the experience gained over the years.

Sally Ingram - Understanding self harm in children and young people

Workshop aims:

• Demonstrate the process of self-harming behaviour
• Identify cultural impacts upon young people who self-harm
• Share first hand experiences
• Raise discussion around child protection responses
• Consider the impact upon the practitioners working with self-harm

Sally Ingram is a Counsellor and Service manager for a family counselling service with a department of 15 counsellors supporting young people aged 5 to 25 years. She also runs a small private counselling practice and teaches counselling to Diploma level specialising in young people counselling issues. She has experience in working with supervisors and perpetrators of sexual abuse and has trained in the subject of Self-Harm for many years.

Billie Roberts – Spirit, duality and young people

Workshop aims:

It is for people who are working or are interested in working with the spiritual dimension with their work with young people. To share understanding and practice including the use of fairy tales, myth and metaphor.

Billie Roberts works both as a school counsellor and independent counsellor. She is an experienced youth practitioner, trainer and manager. Her experience includes centres for young people in both rural and urban settings.

Mary Baginsky – Evaluation

Workshop aims:

To examine

• The reasons for evaluating counselling in schools
• The barriers to evaluating counselling and how to overcome these
• The most appropriate methods of use

Mary Baginsky studied Law and Politics at the University of Keele and then Law at King's College London and LSE. She moved from penal research into educational research and has held research posts at CCETSW, Institute of Education, Vera Institute of Justice (New York), Hebrew University, NFER and Education 2000. After a period as a freelance researcher during which she undertook contracts in the public and private sector she came to NSPCC as Senior Research Officer where most of her work has focused on the role of education in child protection. But she carried out a study of the counselling and support available to young people who have been sexually abused and with researchers at the Keele University she recently completed an evaluation of NSPCC's School Teams. An important component of the teaching work is counselling.

Workshop presenter

Graeme Farquharson - Working with groups

Workshop aims:

To address the following

• Establishing and maintaining a therapeutic group
• Dynamic administration
• Role of the leader(s)

Graeme Farquharson is group analyst and organisational consultant in private practice. He is a member of The Institute of Group Analysis (London). Registered by United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy, Trustee, The Fostering Foundation and Patron, The Zito Trust.

Graeme is currently consulting to a wide range of services – NHS, Local Authorities and Independent Sector.

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