Self-care should be seen by practitioners and organisations alike as a fundamental part of human service work, and not just an optional add-on. People in the ‘helping’ professions—such as social workers, counsellors, teachers, carers, and health professionals—juggle many potential challenges everyday including high workloads, …Read more
Every year the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare runs a ‘Resi Rocks’ professional development day for residential care workers in Victoria. This year, Innovative Resources was invited to launch our recently-published resource called POSTCARDS from me to you by running a series …Read more
The stories of how people use materials developed by St Luke’s Innovative Resources never fail to inspire us with their practice wisdom. Recently, we received the following stories about using Shadows and Deeper Shadows in family violence situations: From Lili ‘I like Shadows and …Read more
At Innovative Resources we never tire of hearing about new and creative ways that Picture This is used. Why is it so useful, and so popular? Possibly because of the large number and variety of photos within the set, or maybe because there is …Read more
Scaling is a simple, highly visual and easily understood way of measuring and evaluating anything. Look around and you will see scaling being used in countless ways every day. A wall of a hospital might show a big temperature gauge to measure how fundraising …Read more
Have you ever said sorry to someone, and yet you know they have not experienced your apology as authentic? Somehow your sincere apology did not land. This may be more likely to happen when the offence is perceived as a grave one. But it …Read more
In this complex and uncertain world there is nothing more certain than the challenges of parenting. Long has it been remarked that this fundamental role in society is undertaken without the training, supports and qualifications required for much less demanding activities. However, as the …Read more
When conversations turn to tricky subjects, our hands are often clear indicators of discomfort. Whether it is hands thrust deep into pockets in defiance, or nervously rearranging hair, or biting fingernails, or any other kind of flicking, tapping, picking or squeezing we may be …Read more
If you are a youth worker, counsellor, mentor, teacher, chaplain or welfare coordinator in a school, chances are you’ve come across the Reflexions cards somewhere along the line. You may even have a set kicking around in your tool bag of resources. A new …Read more
Organisations that work well draw on a dynamic combination of strengths. What are the strengths of your organisation? How well does your organisation do with strengths such as planning, leadership, fairness, communication, role clarity, and creativity? What about managing change and resolving disputes? Which …Read more
Only under certain circumstances does Innovative Resources permit the reproduction of images from our card sets like those displayed in the picture book, Smarty Pants, Kitty or Tiger? Nicole Rotaru from McAuley Community Services for Women approached us and explained the amazing work …Read more
SOON Article from the archives (April 2015, issue 76) Nicole Rotarua got in touch during a short break in Nairobi, Kenya. Here’s her moving account of a team building session in Sudan. Since 2013 I have been working in the Nuba Mountains, a site of war and …Read more
St Luke’s Innovative Resources is delighted to announce the launch of its eLearning platform in May 2018, with its flagship course—Strengths Approach to Practice. Why do so many people find the strengths approach to practice such a deeply rewarding way to work? Why …Read more
In Play Together Learn Together, an ebook launched at Broadmeadows Women’s Community House late last month, author Genine Clements writes passionately about the primary importance of play. ‘It is widely understood from decades of research and academia that a child learns through play,’ …Read more
Think back to when you were a young child. Can you remember playing with your parents, perhaps particularly with your mother? Or if you are a parent or grandparent now, do you play with a baby or pre-schooler in your family? Perhaps peekaboo behind …Read more
‘If you could imagine one resource you would most like to have when working with young people, what would it be?’ This is the question we asked a group of people working in residential care at Anglicare Victoria. They all agreed that they wanted …Read more
Becoming an independent individual is a complex and sometimes difficult journey. Who am I? What am I feeling? What is important to me? What choices and changes do I want? Where am I at and where am I heading? Reflexions can help young people …Read more
As the end of another calendar year looms, the old chestnut of setting a New Year’s resolution comes to mind. For some it may be giving up a bad habit or learning a good habit, and then there’s the work/life balancing thoughts along with …Read more
Christmas/New Year means precious ‘time out’ for many people. Whether or not these occasions are part of your religious or cultural traditions, the golden combination of summer and public holidays means that many Australians will be heading for the beach, the bush or the …Read more
Anyone who works with people faces a barrage of ethical decisions every day. All decisions by human services practitioners are taken within the context of values and ethics. Professional bodies and human service organisations generally have codes of conduct that may include ethical principles …Read more
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