Social Work: From Assessment to Intervention

About Cathryn MeredithPhilip Heslop

I have been a social worker since 1992 and chose social work as a profession to challenge inequality and discrimination. I have worked mainly in childcare social work and from 1995 specifically in fostering and adoption. I have worked in statutory voluntary and independent social work and have worked in all four countries of the UK. I developed a specialism working with male carers as well as caring for children on the autism spectrum. Having held a wide range of practice training reviewing and management roles I am also a passionate educator. I am qualified to teach adults and children have been an NVQ assessor and am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I completed a PhD on foster fathers through Durham University and joined Northumbria Universitys teaching team in 2013. I teach across all social work programmes focusing particularly on social work assessments and interventions. I supervise PhD students and I currently am principal investigator on an evaluation of simulation-based learning in social work programmes.   I qualified as a social worker in 2001 and went on to practice in a variety of mental health settings. I became an Approved Social Worker (ASW) and later an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP). I developed a specialism in working with people diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder and self-harming and suicidal behaviours. I qualified as a Best Interests Assessor (BIA) and went on to become a local authority Mental Capacity Act lead.  From 2013 until its closure I was a College of Social Works accredited Expert Safeguarding Adults Practitioner. I left practice in 2013 to teach and research at Northumbria University. I teach across all qualifying and post qualifying social work programmes focussing particularly on social work with adults mental capacity adult safeguarding and mental health. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and I am currently completing a PhD which explores how adult safeguarding is performed with people experiencing dementia.