The Psychology of Case Management

The Neuroscience of pain, with Dr Romy Sherlock, Director of Retraining Pain

This week, Dr Romy Sherlock takes us beyond ‘issues in the tissues’ and into the neuroscience of pain: it’s not just about treating physical symptoms, but encompasses our use of language, the client relationship, and how we deal with witnessing the pain of others. Brace for the traditional top tips for Personal Injury professionals, and an invitation to join the discussion...

HR matters in Personal Injury work, with Cecily Lalloo, Director of Embrace HR

This week’s podcast looks at managing care teams through an HR lens, and the expert eye of Cecily Lalloo, whose company has a specialism in care sector HR, including case management. She talks to us about the importance of empathy, training, communication and relationships, working at the speed of the family, and sometimes having to let people go.

Using Motivational Interviewing with brain injury, with Andrew Rose, AKA Case Management

Do you have clients where the more you try to offer sound information and advice, the more they tend to back off and resist? Stephen Rollnick and William Miller felt this in their helping roles, and came up with Motivational Interviewing to minimize barriers in their work. Now MI has an excellent research base and is applied in all sorts of settings from forensic to educational to sports. It’s getting better known in the brain injury world, too. In this episode, case manager Andrew Rose, introduces us to the theory and practice of MI and why he finds it such an excellent tool.

Racism in the Personal Injury World: dare to be courageous?

Today I’m going solo on a topic that is both difficult and close to my heart. I want to look at racism through the lens of my family history, childhood and educational experiences, adult and professional life, and where it has come up in the personal injury/case management field. I’ll offer some ideas for steps we can all take towards meaningful change, and I’m open to constructive feedback. After all, "the best things in life are on the other side of a difficult conversation" (Kwame Christian).

Family work when there is a brain injury, with Dr Ndidi Boakye, Director of The Psych Practice

Ndidi Boakye joins us today to talk about the importance of the family in rehabilitation, because an individual doesn’t recover in isolation. She explains what is meant by the ‘system’ around a client, the impact of an injury on the family, what support a family could need, and the challenge to get wider family issues recognized as part of the injury trauma. Ndidi examines systemic factors in assessment, the risks of not considering spouses/families, cultural issues, and what case managers can do.

Linking trauma and pain, with Dr Melanie Lee and Dr Alan Bowman of Trust Pain Management

Dr Melanie Lee and Dr Alan Bowman kick off our second season by describing their journey into pain management, working with personal injury clients and chronic pain, reactions to pain and trauma in the body and the mind... and ways to work with them.

Trailer for Season Two

Season Two trailer!

Saying Yes to No: Boundaries in Personal Injury work, with Dr Alice Nicholls

Dr Alice Nicholls returns to the podcast to discuss the issue of boundaries: why they’re so important for psychologists, and how they apply to the multi-faceted field of case management. Alice talks about consistency, sustainability, expectations and reasonable practice, allowing time when switching between clients, maintaining mental boundaries, and working within your competence. She alerts us to the signs that boundaries might need addressing, communicating and re-setting, and shares her top tips.

On being an Expert Witness in injury work with Dr Kathryn Newns, Clinical Psychologist at Applied Psychology Solutions

Dr Katie Newns tells us all about being an Expert Witness in injury cases: from the initial training and accreditation to experience in court, balancing evidence, facing awkward questions, dealing with considerable pressures and the difference between formulation and diagnosis. Listen to learn more about this kind of work and see whether it could suit you.

Self-reflection

Today’s ‘solo’ episode is an exploration of the topic of self-reflection and reflexiveness: using reflective questions to learn lessons from our own actions, and not only for other people’s benefit. It’s something we have to learn, and can help to produce good quality social science research, life satisfaction, and I believe it’s important to know our limits, in Personal Injury work, if we want to be at our best and healthiest. Maybe taking a break over the summer will be a chance to let things settle and process them – ready to bounce back, renewed, into our professional roles.