The Power and Purpose behind ‘Next Steps’

Posted: 01/01/2025

Every step we take follows another. Every step we take precedes another. The smallest shifts—doing some dishes, putting something away, stopping something, starting something, taking a shower—can all be significant events on a continuum of ‘next steps’, representing our unique pathways through life. ‘A …Read more

Solutions on the high seas

Posted: 01/05/2024

‘I’m Dion, I live on a boat.’ That’s a pretty cool introduction for anyone, and not what I expected from a man who has spent the past decade and a half working in human services and, more recently, perfecting the “art” of solution-focused supervision. …Read more

The Work is a Privilege and an Honour

Posted: 24/06/2019

My name is Monique Beglinger and I am a psychologist based in Sydney, Australia. I currently work in two primary schools and one high school across Western Sydney. Prior to this I worked in child protection, out-of-home care, intensive family support, disability support and …Read more

How is Strengths-based Supervision Different?

Posted: 13/05/2019

Davys and Beddoe, authors of Best Practice in Professional Supervision: A Guide for the Helping Professions (2010: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London), suggest that strengths-based approaches to supervision are different to an hierarchical and managerial model of supervision where the supervisor is perceived as the ‘expert’, who imparts …Read more

Picture of the Future

Posted: 06/03/2019

Picture this: You are in a room with your extended family. It might be a celebratory lunch, a special birthday, Christmas dinner, or some other festive occasion. And yet, it’s not quite as exhilarating, and definitely not like it ‘used’ to be. The children …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

Exploring ‘Organisational White Privilege’

Posted: 26/09/2018

The Bendigo Reconciliation Committee has developed a FREE resource for mainstream community organisations to explore the issue of ‘organisational white privilege’. The development of this resource grew out of a Conversation Circle arranged by the Bendigo Reconciliation Committee (BRC) and member agencies during the …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

The Strengths Approach to Listening

Posted: 08/11/2017

‘When you talk you are only repeating what you already know. But when you listen, you may learn something new.’     Dalai Lama Listening is the skill most critical for engagement. The desire to be helpful can sometimes get in the way of good listening and …Read more

The Gift of Noticing Children’s Strengths

Posted: 05/07/2017

Children thrive when their strengths are valued. Often, the weight of a ‘problem’ can lift considerably when we think of it as a strength yet to be developed. For these reasons many family counsellors, welfare coordinators and support workers encourage parents and carers to …Read more

Building Strengths Cultures and Strengths Literacy

Posted: 31/03/2017

‘Everyone benefits in cultures where their strengths are appreciated and noticed. Children, in particular, blossom when they are held in positive regard by the people around them.’  We are surrounded by many different cultures—not only the obvious cultural differences between countries and peoples—but also …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

Processes and Skills of the Strengths Approach

Posted: 03/10/2016

Building a relationship of trust is the foundation for all respectful and constructive helping processes. This is facilitated by genuine interest in, and validation of, people’s experiences, strengths, capacities and aspirations. It is also facilitated by transparent practices and assisting the person to take …Read more

What is “The Strengths Approach”?

Posted: 12/01/2016

More than 10 years ago, Wayne McCashen, then a leader of strengths-based practice and trainer at St Luke’s, documented the framework that had been embedded as the foundation for the agency’s practice for working with people. ‘The Strengths Approach‘ has been reprinted many times over, and …Read more