peter oram

At the Sunshine Coast Stoicism meet-up that I facilitate, the topic of supernatural belief comes up reasonably often.

I have had interesting developments in my thinking about this over the past few years since I’ve been trying to follow Stoicism, and in particular since reading and re-reading Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. As some of you know I was a Catholic when I was young, including growing up in a very strongly Catholic family, and spending three years at a seminary training to be a priest. From soon after my seminary days until at least 10 years ago I would have called myself an atheist, or perhaps an agnostic. But I’ve noticed in the last five years or so that I’ve become less reactive to religion and religious terminology, and in particular, terminology about a divine being. I still would not say anything like “I believe that God exists”, but I’m much more comfortable with the idea of a supernatural part of our universe, perhaps analogous to the Logos λόγος or perhaps even the psyche ψυχή.

I find (or I have found) the vocabulary of religion somewhat difficult. I will only speak for myself, although I suspect many former believers have similar ideas to the following. The word religion, broadly, is negative for me, and has connotations of the negative effects brought by religion in the world, e.g. clerical paedophilia, terrorism, subjugation, and sectarian fighting. I would contrast faith with religion, and for me faith has connotations of a positive relationship with a divine being and with a community of people who believe similar things. Five years ago, I might have made fun of people who believe in an imaginary friend (although not to their faces). But now I’m more tolerant of people who believe in a divine being, even though the existence of such an entity doesn’t square with my own skepticism.

One of the things I like the most about Stoicism is the absence or almost complete absence of dogma. Of course there are central tenets without which you could not really call yourself a follower of Stoicism, e.g. the dichotomy of control, but it’s a broad church, so to speak.

#Stoicism #StoicPhilosophy #atheism #agnosticism #theism #supernatural #belief #logos #reason #religion #faith #SunshineCoast

• Actively participate in professional supervision
• Engage in continuing professional development
• Where appropriate, to contribute to the professional development of others

Academic

My academic coursework has provided multiple examples of reflection, professional development and supervision, and highlighted the importance of these: fortunately, it has been a recurring theme throughout the Masters. Although strictly speaking tutorials and seminars are not “professional supervision”, the elements of supervision are there, including: reflective practice, support, accountability, managing boundaries, ethics. I consider that I actively engaged in activities similar to professional supervision within my coursework, and also contributed to the professional development of others: clear and honest discussions about practice; critical reflection on frameworks and values; and critical reflection on my attitudes and behaviour to develop and improve my social-work practice.

Field Education

Supervision in the community-mental-health team was welcomed and was vital to me completing my second field placement. During my first placement the field educator provided good quality ad-hoc supervision (de-briefing and discussion), but unfortunately did not provide any planned, structured professional supervision, and the university was aware of this. (I have since learnt that this semester the university provided professional supervision for the students completing their practicum at this high school.) For this reason, I valued enormously the planned and structured professional supervision from my field educator at the community-mental-health, which complemented the high-level ad-hoc supervision she provided at other times. There were multiple professional development opportunities within community mental health at the organisation where I did my final practicum. I was able to complete numerous practical courses and workshops, and more importantly, there is a culture within the organisation of continuous improvement that makes it easy to create opportunities to respond to my commitment to continuing career learning. Throughout both practicums, I tried to synthesise professional development into my emerging practice framework, and to make myself vulnerable in supervision to have tough conversations about self-care and burnout; blind spots; vicarious trauma; and practical matters such as consent, capacity and therapeutic interventions. This provided me with the opportunity to critically reflect on and to explore a number of areas of my practice that I saw as needing improvement, and provided me with opportunities to be positive about my strengths that I was not always able to see on my own. I have reflected on these conversations with my field educator outside of our supervision sessions, and I believe that this has allowed for incremental changes to my social-work practice, making me a better social worker.

Personal

In all of my many roles over the years I have tried to continuously improve how I do things. Reflection is the principle element of my framework of practice, and has been since I first articulated my framework at the beginning of the social-work masters; it feels like reflection has been the principle element of my life, without my even realising. I have always had a thirst for knowledge and to do better and to be better. When I was a young boy I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up because I was curious and wanted to learn about the world around me. When I was a young man I wanted to be a priest because I believed then that with my interpersonal skills and my faith, I could help others to be better. After becoming an atheist, I wanted to be a teacher – again so that I could help others to be better and to help others learn about the world around them. And finally I wanted to be a social worker, to help people to live better lives and to help bring about productive change in society so that people’s lives can be better. This feels like a natural process, and even the process of writing this reflection is bringing clarity to the organic development of my career and roles. I am a follower of Stoic philosophy. There is a word in Greek philosophy – prokopton – that I believe sums up my approach to Stoicism and to my life. Superficially it means something like follower or disciple, but it has greater depth, and refers to someone who is trying to follow philosophy in order to live more excellently. That’s me. I am a work in progress.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #reflection #ProfessionalSupervision

• Record and manage information appropriately
• Keep and maintain information in accordance with ethical principles and relevant legislation

Academic

The Masters coursework provided some important information on gathering, recording, sharing and managing information in a professional social-work setting. The importance of collecting and maintaining client information in a respectful and confidential manner was reiterated across various academic courses, and I found it invaluable to learn with students and particularly tutors who were able to draw on real-life examples of keeping accurate and comprehensive client records, and help us to understand the impact that something relatively ‘boring’ such as professional documentation could have for clients. Kaila White’s course on working with children and families allowed us to develop practical skills regarding what types of information to record when working with clients and gave us the opportunity to undertake practice bio-psycho-social assessments and Mental State Examinations, which I found particularly useful in that it provided me with the confidence to gather and record client information in a clinical mental-health social work setting.

Field Education

Undertaking my second placement in the community-mental-health team gave me many varied opportunities to further develop my skillset in gathering and recording client information. I have learnt to write clear and useful clinical notes, and (crucially) to be content with clinical notes that are not ‘perfect’ but serve their purpose. This has been a result of carefully reading and learning from the clinical notes written by other team members, and using them as models for my own notes, as well as undertaking formal training workshops in Formulation and the Mental State Examination. I have learnt how to create common documents and to record Provision of Service, notes, and client information in the clinical management system of the mental-health organisation. I have been able to learn from feedback from the team leader when I haven’t completed documentation correctly, and I have been able to deal with this in a positive way, despite my notes being on a report of ‘errors’. This has supported me in building confidence in this domain and has provided me with skills that will serve me well as an emerging practitioner.

Personal

My work in medical administration in a private practice, although different in some ways, has enabled me to gain a great deal of experience of gathering, recording and sharing information while following organisational policies and procedures and legal requirements. The importance of doing so in a way that respects client confidentiality is of vital importance to me. I was more zealous of client confidentially in the practice than many staff of medical centres, and would not even confirm with a third party if a person was a patient without written consent. Having said that, I am aware of the need to be realistic when applying legislation to concrete situations, and in the private-practice setting there were times when I discussed information with a family member of a patient who was in a situation in which not sharing any information might compromise their well-being.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #InformationManagement

• Communicate with a diverse range of people
• Communicate the details and nature of the service offered to people
• ​​​​​​​Work with others in a team environment
• Use information technology to communicate and provide services​​​​​​​

Academic

My coursework studies have prepared me well to communicate effectively and interact with a variety of people using strong interpersonal skills. In particular, a number of courses provided insight into the importance of being person-centred communication and communicating with each individual in a way that meets their particular needs. Vinathe Sharma-Brymer’s course examined the importance of cultural sensitivity and of changing the way that we communicate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, which I found enormously helpful. The learning experience itself has also taught me valuable lessons about communication, with the need to communicate with peers, staff, tutors and lecturers, and other staff. Studying with a cohort of peers from diverse backgrounds and circumstances has helped me to become a better communicator and develop strong interpersonal skills in an academic context.

Field Education

My practicums, particularly at the community mental health organisation, have provided excellent opportunities to practise and enhance my existing communication and interpersonal skills in a social-work setting. During face-to-face bio-psycho-social assessments, I have used interpersonal skills to build rapport with clients and their families before clearly communicating confidentiality and consent policies. I was also required to contribute to multidisciplinary team meetings and discussions. I have learnt that being open to feedback contributes to a warm team environment, and that when a team already has positive communication as one of its traits, my own interpersonal skills contribute to that team dynamic. I am able to communicate effectively with individuals – both clients and colleagues – and within groups, for example in multi-disciplinary team meetings. My field educator listed my strengths as warmth, rapport, gentleness, and commented on my interest in people; my thorough clinical notes; and my ability to bring fresh eyes to multidisciplinary team meetings. In the future I would like to become more confident with my abilities, and to trust myself more.

Personal

The importance of effective communication and of communication skills was instilled in me from a young age. My mother was a primary school teacher and always emphasised the importance of being able to interact with people, no matter who they are or where they come from, and to be clear and precise in communication, which prepared me well and gave me strong communication skills. Growing up, I met people from a variety of backgrounds, with different levels of education and life experiences, and I developed the ability to “code-switch” when I was young, and to communicate differently depending on the interlocutor. This taught me the importance of finding common ground and talking to people in a way that is meaningful to them, as well as considering their own communication skills. I genuinely like people and consider myself able to get along with many different people, and have always considered myself fortunate to have strong interpersonal skills, which I am able to apply to my social-work praxis.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #communication #InterpersonalCommunication

• Assess and analyse needs to inform practice
• Work collaboratively
• Use a range of social-work methods and techniques appropriate to the area of practice
• Apply critical and reflective thinking to practice

Academic

My academic learning provided the perfect launch pad and skill set for a transition into social work practice. I found a number of courses, including with Kaila White last semester, particularly informative and helpful, examining some of the theories used to work with families and children as a social worker, looking closely at various theories of practice and how to apply them in the social-work setting. In general throughout the coursework, I have found it useful to discuss case studies in an academic setting with peers and tutors who were able to share their experiences working in the field, which provided the opportunity to examine the knowledge for practice applies (or not) to particular cases. The collaborative approach to coursework has been enormously helpful in my work as a social worker.

Field Education

My placements at both the high school and the community-mental-health team gave me the perfect opportunity to develop my theoretical knowledge in practical settings. The school-based work gave me opportunities to apply my knowledge to a community setting, which was complemented by the mental-health focus of the community-mental-health team. As part of that placement, I worked as a member of the community team doing home visits to consumers, providing support and brief mental-health interventions, providing face-to-face bio-psycho-social assessments with a diverse variety of clients. I consider myself able to work inclusively and respectfully with clients from a variety of socio-economic statuses, and cultural and religious backgrounds and to tailor conversations and interventions to suit the needs and communication styles of the clients. As part of the community-mental-health team, I was required to contribute to treatment planning for clients, I believe that I am becoming more confident in my ability to identify appropriate intervention methods and that I am continuing to develop and fine-tune my insight and judgement as a social worker. I have experienced numerous examples of “tweaking” my academic understanding of issues such as diagnoses and client communication, as a result of on-the-ground discussion with my field educator, as well as team meetings and in-house training workshops. I have learnt the hard way that I need to be prepared for each home visit, particularly when the purpose is more formal, such as an assessment. I have felt comfortable refining my existing skills during regular, less formal, home visits; and feedback from my field educator has helped me learn valuable skills for assessments, which take place in an informal setting but require a clear structure and clear questions from me as the clinician.

Personal

I believe that in my personal experience as a parent, teacher, and even as a citizen, it is necessary for me to address, assess, and analyse the needs of the individuals and communities I interact with, and not solely in my work role as a social worker. One example is that I facilitate a face-to-face reading and discussion group on the topic of Stoic philosophy, and this has enabled me to apply my communication and organisational skills in a less formal setting, which is also a setting with lower responsibility. I think this dovetails well with effective and informed social-work practice. Collaboration – either in personal settings or in professional settings – allows me to harness the collective wisdom and resources of multidisciplinary teams and to tailor techniques to the unique context and challenges of our communities of practice. I also value continuous critical reflective thinking, engaging in self-examination to refine my practice and to cultivate empathy and cultural competence.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #knowledge #practice

Academic

It was social justice within an academic setting which first drew me towards studying social work. In the first few weeks of classes I recall realising that the Masters of Social Work was the right course for me. This has been confirmed throughout the various courses of the Masters. When I was a young man I completed a Bachelor of Theology as part of my (incomplete) training for the Catholic priesthood, and in a sense, the social work coursework has felt like a secular version of the “mission”-oriented parts of the seminary training. I found the courses related to oppression and discrimination to be insightful and challenging, allowing me to critique our modern social systems, particularly: Phillip Ablett's course examining sociology from a philosophical point of view; Raj Yadav’s course on social policy; and Vinathe Sharma-Brymer’s course on engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. These and other courses have also extended my understanding of the importance of evidence-based practice and its ability to deliver successful outcomes for the individuals and groups with whom social workers engage.

Field Education

My placements at the high school and the community-mental-health team gave me opportunities to gain a more practical understanding of the knowledge for practice that I had acquired through my studies. My goals in this domain were to develop a strong understanding of the model of care within each organisation and develop the ability to work within this model; to discuss with colleagues and my supervisor about the social-work frameworks and theories that they tended to use in their own practice and to understand how these relate to my praxis; and to develop an understanding of common systemic issues for older people and for young people that can lead to their presentation, including the development of practical strategies to address these issues. Working within the community-mental-health team in particular provided me with an incredibly supportive environment to explore the application of these ideas. I greatly benefitted from having a safety net of colleagues to get feedback from and to discuss clients and approaches with. I consider myself fortunate to have been a part of a strong, positive multidisciplinary team who were generous in sharing their own knowledge and experiences. The multidisciplinary team meetings for case review allowed me to develop a strong understanding of the services available to older people with mental-health problems, as well as some of the common systemic issues faced by our clients. The team meetings also allowed me to have better insight into the evidence-based practice for engaging with the diversity of bio-psycho-social issues commonly face by older people in the community. My most significant achievement I believe was the assessment process of a new client from beginning to end: being able to undertake the interview itself (with support and feedback); write the report (with discussions with other team members when I was uncertain); presenting verbally within a multidisciplinary team meeting to my colleagues; and visiting the client again with the result of the team decision and to explain further steps. I am very proud of this process.

Personal

This section refers back to the academic section. My desire as a young man to become a Catholic priest and my desire in middle age to become a social worker, stem from the same source: a strong urge to make the world a better place, and to enrich the lives of ordinary people. People of faith often speak of a ‘vocation’, and I genuinely feel that I have a vocation to be a social worker. I am aware of the potential dangers of approaching social work as a vocation, and I feel comfortable keeping to my professional boundaries and engaging in regular critical self-reflection while also working to improve our society and people’s lives. My experience as practice manager for psychiatrists and psychologists has also greatly influenced my understanding of mental-health problems such as anxiety, depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This role helped me to develop my strong sense of empathy, and an appreciation for what it means to be resilient in the face of trauma. I believe that my personal experience as someone with depression makes me a better practitioner by deepening my understanding of this domain. In addition, I consider scientific method is the most useful framework when it comes to knowledge for practice, and I will continue to value evidence-based practice by staying aware of current literature as part of a commitment to lifelong learning.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #vocation

• Work inclusively and respectfully with cultural difference and diversity
• Respect and strive to understand and promote the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures

Academic

Across my studies in both education and social work, I have gained an in-depth theoretical understanding of practising in a culturally inclusive and responsive manner. This is something that I wish to continue to develop in a more practical setting across my career in social work. In an Australian context, the continuing inter-generational effects of colonisation and the devastating impact that it has had and continues to have for First Nations peoples in this country. As a result of this learning, I am determined to do everything I can in my practice to be an ally for First Nations peoples and individuals and help in the movement towards treaty and constitutional recognition as outlined by the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In particular, the course on working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people helped me to examine how I can practice in a culturally responsive way, prioritising collaboration that embraces Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, doing and being. This unit in particular helped me to understand the way that the social-work profession has contributed to colonisation through malpractice (the Stolen Generations), and that we as practitioners must work even harder to re-connect with and regain the trust of First Nations people that we are working with. I found it incredibly helpful to have a cohort of diverse background and experiences to discuss the course content with and draw out different understandings and perspectives in this space. In addition, it was amazing to study with many international students and gain insight into their experiences of culture, unfortunately often of discrimination. The importance of culturally responsive practice has been a significant element across my academic journey.

Field Education

During my field-education placements, I was mindful of theory I had learnt with relation to culturally sensitive practice and during my first placement in the high school, I had some opportunity to work with First Nations young people and attempted to be aware of and accommodate their ways of knowing, being and doing. I also worked extensively with LGBTIQ+ young people, helping to facilitate a social group each week and building friendships and working relationships within the community. I try to make connections with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by putting out feelers as much as I can, and making the most of placement in terms of indigenous networking. In practice, this involves being aware of possible distrust and a sense of being continually let down, especially by authority figures. In particular, I spent time with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program within the broad organisation in which I did my final placement and appreciated the learnings and advice that I gleaned from my visits.

Personal

I have reflected extensively on my position in the world as a white, cis-gender male. I've done a significant amount of wide reading in order to figure out my place in the world and how to best help from a position of significant privilege. This privilege is at the forefront of my mind in all my interactions both personal and professional. Having done some travel and work abroad, embracing cultural diversity and being culturally responsive is one of the cornerstones of my practice. I believe this ties in well with person-centred practice that looks to understand the world from the perspective of the individual and work collaboratively alongside them to elicit solutions. I feel that person-centred practice is necessarily culturally responsive and is the core of my personal frame of practice.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #CulturallyResponsive #diversity

• Represent the social work profession with integrity and professionalism
• Behave in a professional manner and be accountable for all actions and decisions

Academic

I believe that self-reflection is a critical part of professionalism (and can also be seen as a part of professional development). For me this means to ask myself questions to learn what has worked and how to do better than previously. Taking courses through the MSWQ program has helped me gain a deeper understanding of many theories for practice, and in doing so I have determined which theories are right for me and will find ways to use them throughout my career. A deeper understanding of the theories, frameworks and knowledge required for practice has enabled me to better articulate my own framework for practice and work in a way that maintains the core values ​​of AASW with regard to professionalism. Various courses, reading more widely, and listening to podcasts suggested by colleagues have helped me better understand a human-centred approach and the importance of working alongside customers, instead of working from a position of power, which is what I now seek to do in my practice. Additionally, discussions with my colleagues and tutors throughout the Master's program have helped me better understand how to maintain a professional attitude in real-world settings.  Many of these conversations involve discussions about how to manage emotions during difficult circumstances and how to prioritise self-care to avoid burnout.

Field Education

My practicum aspirations were to reflect regularly and systematically on my practice, in a continual cycle of learning and improvement; to develop clear professional boundaries between personal and work life; and to maintain self-care in order to bring the best version of myself to practice. I was able to discuss appropriate self-disclosure with colleagues as well as during supervision and was able to draw appropriate boundaries between work and personal lives. In relation to addressing the inherent power dynamic between social worker and client, I attempted to operate from a collaborative and person-centred practice framework, and tried to reduce any potential power imbalances within micro-level interactions and also systemically. At times I found it a challenge to maintain a healthy work-life balance throughout the duration of placement, and this was a regular topic of discussion during my supervision. Through the course of the placement, and with my growing sense of competence, I have been able to make time and prioritise self-care practices enabling me to have a better balance between work and my personal life.

Personal Life

I have had a number of different jobs over my life so far – including support worker, teacher, and practice manager – each with slightly different expectations and professional standards, but with some overlap. I’ve been able to learn about professional boundaries, not only on practicum, but also through my previous work as office manager for a psychiatry and psychologist practice, and I think it’s very important to keep boundaries, and this relates to professionalism. We need to act professionally in terms of confidentiality, also allowing for communication with other people involved in the clients care without breaching confidentiality. It has been essential for me to recognise and adapt across different roles, with different organisations, and operating with different policies, procedures and guidelines. I believe that it is esential to maintain strong professional boundaries in order to be the best version of myself outside of work and live life to its fullest. It is my strong belief that maintaining self-care practices and boundaries allows me to be my best professional self; to provide the best service that I can; and to support my own well-being.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #professionalism #boundaries

• Practice in accordance with AASW Code of Ethics
• Manage ethical dilemmas and issues arising in practice

Academic

Over my three and a half years of study I have become very familiar with the code of ethics of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), an essential discipline-specific code to draw on and refer back to. The coursework of the Masters has given me useful opportunities for me to become familiar with the code and reflect on how it relates to my own personal values and ethics. It was really valuable to be able to use the code and apply its elements to case studies and discuss how a certain area of the code may apply and to do so in an academic setting where I felt supported in engaging is discussion about different ethical considerations that each of us had, coming from different perspectives. Discussions such as this demonstrate that ethical decisions can be undertaken differently by different practitioners depending on their frameworks, values and ethics, and that there are very often multiple possible courses of action depending on the particular variables. Black-and-white thinking is rarely suitable for ethical thinking and ethical decisions.

Field Education

The Code of Ethics has been extremely useful during my practicums in practising ethically and dealing with ethical issues, as well as having colleagues and field educators with whom I feel comfortable discussing ethical decision-making in order to help me to decide on a course of action. My first placement was at a state high school working with the chaplain, and it was interesting to see the different priorities and approaches of other sections of the school community, including teachers and non-teaching staff, and how this was similar or different to a social-work approach with different core values. It was frequently useful to discus this with my supervisor and to work together towards outcomes that met the needs of diverse stakeholders. My second placement – in a community-mental-health team within a larger health organisation – was in a clinical mental-health setting. It was interesting again to compare the guidelines and policies of health organisation with those of the AASW Code of Ethics. During my second placement I used both supervision and interaction with colleagues to discuss ethical decision-making that came up on a day-to-day basis during the practicum. I believe that I learnt a great deal with regard to values and ethics and in particular the essential nature of shared decision-making with regard to ethical dilemmas and action based on value judgments.

Personal

As my study continued it became more and more apparent that my own values aligned closely with those of the AASW. My motivation in choosing to enter the field of Social Work was originally to support people with mental-health problems, but within a framework of social change within society, and the framework of a person’s particular social environment. I bring a strong sense of social justice, and awareness of central issues such as poverty, equality, and human rights. As a young man, I studied for three years in a Catholic seminary, initially intending to become a priest, and this study introduced me to Liberation Theology (exemplified by advocates such as Gustavo Gutiérrez), inclusive language, and the broader concepts of equality/inequality and inclusion/exclusion within religion.

I have continued informal learning in the field of philosophy, and consider myself a follower of modern Stoicism, which incorporates a strong focus on pro-social action within one’s community and within wider society. I am involved in both face-to-face and online Stoic discussion groups. One of my favourite quotes is from the Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, in his Meditations (Book 2, 1; translation by Gregory Hays, abbreviated): “No-one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate them. We were born to work together like feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on them: these are obstructions.”

A significant part of ethics is being able to consciously view the needs and wishes of other people, not only myself. I want to do work that values ​​the things that really matter to me: respect for other people and other cultures through evidence-based practice and critical reflection; movement towards social justice and fairness for everyone, not just those who are privileged like me – born in a wealthy country, the dominant gender, and the dominant ethnicity. The values ​​of social work broadly and as represented by the AASW Code of Ethics have reinforced the things that I believe in.

https://linktr.ee/peteroram

#SocialWork #health #MentalHealth #CommunityMentalHealth #ethics #values #SocialJustice #equality