Carers come from all walks of life

Posted: 22/01/2020

In this interview, Kelly Harris, one of the team leaders in Home Based Care at Anglicare Victoria (Australia) talks about the ups and downs of recruiting carers. She also describes the many changes to Home Based Care services in the last 15 years. Increase …Read more

Everyone Deserves Respect: Rainbow Talk

Posted: 03/09/2019

  Diversity enriches our community by … Everyone’s body is different, therefore … A gender stereotype I have experienced is … These are just three of the forty cards from Rainbow Talk, a resource for opening up respectful conversations and storytelling about diversity—particularly in …Read more

‘POSTcards’ a Hit in Residential Services

Posted: 14/06/2019

We really appreciate stories from people who use our resources. This year at Resi Rocks, a professional development day for residential workers in Victoria, hosted by the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, I had the pleasure of hearing about POSTcards from …Read more

Self-care is Not Self-ish

Posted: 13/05/2019

As a social worker, I have been taught I need to practise self-care as this will assist me to continue to help others. Whilst I agree that self-care does have this function, I feel like the self gets lost in this explanation since the …Read more

Tactile Resources Help People Talk About Feelings

Posted: 23/01/2019

Talking about feelings, relationships or difficult experiences can be very uncomfortable for people. A cascade of stress hormones can be released by our brain when these topics are raised, especially if trauma is present. Have you noticed that our hands are often clear indicators …Read more

In Memory of Wayne Patrick McCashen (1950—2018)

Posted: 17/12/2018

It is with great sadness and deep respect that St Luke’s Innovative Resources acknowledges the passing of our friend and colleague, Wayne McCashen.  Wayne died peacefully at home with loved ones by his side on 14 December 2018, aged 68. His beloved family—his partner …Read more

Your Road to Learning

Posted: 22/11/2018

We all learn differently. Some people prefer to learn in a quiet place, some people prefer to listen to music while they learn. Some people like to learn in small bitesize chunks and some people like to swallow everything in one mouthful. Others love group …Read more

Self-Care: Not Just an Optional Add-on

Posted: 30/08/2018

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

‘POSTCARDS’ are a hit at ‘Resi Rocks’

Posted: 27/06/2018

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 Power of Reflective Conversations about Parenting

Posted: 04/05/2018

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

‘What Works?’ goes digital

Posted: 09/04/2018

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

Ethics: A Practitioner’s Life on the Edge

Posted: 28/11/2017

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

Reflexions – a Tool for Young People

Posted: 24/05/2017

‘The value of Reflexions is found in its ability to build … conversations in new and existing directions.’(Reflexions booklet, p8) Innovative Resources’ cards can act as ‘conversational prompts’. That is, when used in conversations with other people, they can suggest pathways of communication that …Read more

Stereotypes: More than just…

Posted: 01/03/2017

Ever been to a funeral of someone you liked and thought you knew well, only to discover through the eulogy that there was so much more about the person than you knew? How many times have you walked by the reception desk, said hello …Read more

Navigating Two Worlds: Christmas for Separated Families

Posted: 29/11/2016

Christmas means many things to many people. To some it is filled with magical memories of sparkling lights, tinsel and brightly coloured presents under the tree. Others anticipate the delights of a table laden with meats, salads, puddings and in the Southern Hemisphere at …Read more

Reminders for Best Practice

Posted: 29/11/2016

In the hurley-burley of daily work with the ever-present ‘To Do’ list, it can be easy to lose track of the principles and values that guide good practice. Right in the midst of a supervision session, or when we are about to meet with …Read more

Client-centred, Co-constructed Records

Posted: 27/10/2016

Records have long played an important role in human service work.  Traditionally they contain assessments, plans, reports, letters, decisions and summaries, held in files by an organisation, and maintained by a worker about a client. Most importantly, traditional record keeping tends to focus on ‘the problem’ that …Read more