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‘The Strengths Revolution’ weekly podcast show was launched on 22nd April 2014. Just go into iTunes Store, click the ‘Podcast’ link on the top menu, then put ‘The Strengths Revolution’ into the search box.

Listen, subscribe, and add a review if you feel able to. Remember… listening, downloading or subscribing to the show is FREE!

'Working with Strengths' was published in May 2014 as a comprehensive resource for reviewing the literature and reflecting on strengths-based practice as applied to people in contact with services, as well as the strengths-focused development of practitioners, teams and organisations. It draws on the wider business literature as well as health and social care references to broaden the applicability of the ideas.

'Risk Decision-Making' was published in 2013 to help shift the focus from a tick-box culture to the realities of what good practice should be about. The manual and cd-rom provide the resources that should engage senior management in organisations, as well as the practitioners and multidisciplinary teams.

June 2007 saw the publication of the Working With Risk Trainers Manual and Practitioner Manual through Pavilion Publishing. The Trainers Manual provides a flexible two-day training programme, with the option of using any of the individual sessions as stand-alone training resources. The Practitioner Manual provides a set of practice-based risk tools with supporting guidance on how and when to use each. These materials also aim to discuss some of the wider risk issues and identify a key part of current research and literature. The practice-based tools are also supported by completed case examples.

To make contact either send me a message via the 'Contact Me' form or (if it's urgent) you can call me on 07733 105264.

Practice Based Evidence commenced business in October 2001. Promoting the value of the messages from service users, carers and practitioners experiences. These are often marginalised by the emphasis placed on research.

 

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  • The Art of Co-ordinating Care: A Handbook of Best Practice for Everyone Involved in Care and Support
    The Art of Co-ordinating Care: A Handbook of Best Practice for Everyone Involved in Care and Support

    Jointly written by Practice Based Evidence & ARW, this resource is of importance to everyone in mental health, social care and learning disability services, including primary care.

  • Assertive Outreach: A Strengths Approach to Policy and Practice
    Assertive Outreach: A Strengths Approach to Policy and Practice

    Primarily aimed at developing assertive outreach, but its focus on a strengths approach is applicable to all parts of the mental health system.

Entries in Positive risk-taking (30)

Sunday
Nov142010

Working with Risk Tools

DateSunday, November 14, 2010 at 11:24PM

Risk assessment, risk management and risk-taking are essential elements of mental health practice. However, focus has progressively moved away from clinical judgement towards the administrative requirements of form filling. Practical tools should firstly offer a guide to practice, and secondly the user-friendly format for recording the information and plans that arise. 'Working with Risk' is a flexible package of tools designed to support clinical practice. It offers ideas for three different stages of risk assessment, risk management and risk-taking. These are designed to support the clinical judgement of individual practitioners and teams. These can be used individually as stand-alone tools, or collectively as a whole package.

For services wishing support to implement the flexible set of Working with Risk tools, contact me for negotiating Consultancy services including developing a 'Risk Management Policy' supporting a positive risk-taking approach.

PBE(1) PBE(2) PBE(3) PBE(4)

The 'Working with Risk' tools located above have been developed into a 2-day Risk Trainers Manual and an accompanying Practitioner Risk Manual and were published by Pavilion Publishing in Spring 2007. The article below, written by Steve, gives an overview of the tools. It was first published in Mental Health Today in September 2007 and included here with their kind permission.

Article: Working with Risk: Steve Morgan outlines a new training pack on positive risk management.

 

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Thursday
Nov112010

A Challenge to Evidence Based Practice

DateThursday, November 11, 2010 at 4:38PM

What is the evidence base for risk as we know it? Isn’t an evidence base meant to be something constructive and supportive for practitioners to use in their judgements and interventions? This article (unpublished) explains the impact of a blame culture, and recommends how we should shift to a strengths-based and positive risk-taking agenda as a more constructive way of working with risk.

PDF: A Challenge to Evidence Based Practice: Reshaping the Risk Agenda

The PowerPoint presentation: ‘Risk Assessment and Management: The Role of Evidence, Politics and Practice’ was developed for an invitation to present at the Royal College of Psychiatrists AGM ON 4th July 2008. Due to illness I was unable to attend, but the presentation is available to be viewed.

Powerpoint: Risk Assessment and Management: The Role of Evidence, Politics and Practice

To read the report above you will need free software called Adobe Reader. This software can be downloaded here.

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Thursday
Nov112010

Risk Definitions

DateThursday, November 11, 2010 at 4:32PM

Risk:

is the likelihood of an event happening with potentially harmful or beneficial outcomes for self and others. (Possible behaviours include suicide, self-harm, neglect, aggression and violence; with an additional range of other positive or negative service user experiences).

Risk Assessment:

is the gathering of information through processes of communication, investigation, observation and persistence; and analysis of the potential outcomes of identified behaviours. Identifying specific risk factors of relevance to an individual, and the circumstances in which they may occur. This process requires linking the context of historical information to current circumstances, to anticipate possible future change.

Risk Management:

is the statement of plans and the allocation of responsibilities for translating collective decisions into real actions. It is the activity of exercising a duty of care where risks (positive and negative) are identified. It entails a broad range of responses linked closely to the wider process of care planning. The activities may involve preventative, responsive and supportive measures to diminish the potential negative consequences of risk and to promote potential benefits of taking appropriate risks. These will occasionally involve more restrictive measures and crisis responses where the identified risks have an increased potential for harmful outcomes. It should also clearly identify the dates for reviewing the assessment and the management plans.

Positive Risk-Taking:

[From: Morgan, 2004]: is weighing up the potential benefits and harms of exercising one choice of action over another. Identifying the potential risks involved, and developing plans and actions that reflect the positive potentials and stated priorities of the service user. It involves using available resources and support to achieve the desired outcomes, and to minimise the potential harmful outcomes. It requires an agreement of the goals to be achieved, or a clear explanation of any differences of opinion regarding the goals or courses of action.

Morgan, S. (2004) Positive risk-taking: an idea whose time has come. Health Care Risk Report 10 (10) 18-19.

Morgan, S. (2007) Working with Risk Practitioner’s Manual. Brighton: Pavilion Publishing.

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Thursday
Sep232010

Risk-taking and the 'Risk Business'

DateThursday, September 23, 2010 at 9:43PM

We are in 'the risk business', but what is so wrong about that? Just as risk applies to the lives of everyone every day, so risk has always been an integral part of daily working practice in mental health services. We have choices:

  • To take a narrow and restrictive approach in our expectations of risk avoidance, with the more likely consequences of frustrating the potential of those who deliver services, and risk the disengagement and disenchantment of those who need and use the services.
  • To be more proactive and constructive in our appreciation that calculated risk-taking motivates and benefits everyone.

The article below (unpublished) sets out a definition of what Positive Risk-Taking is and how we go about doing it in a constructive way

PDF: Risk Taking and the Risk Business

To read the report above you will need free software called Adobe Reader. This software can be downloaded here.



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Tuesday
Sep212010

Positive risk-taking: an idea whose time has come

DateTuesday, September 21, 2010 at 8:54PM

Update: Originally the PDF was missing (and our thanks to an eagle-eyed visitor for letting us know). The PDF has now been added. The article is from 2004 and is a forerunner of 2 other articles, published in 2010, which can be found here.

This was the first of Steve's dedicated articles to the concept of positive risk-taking, and is produced here with kind permission from the publishers of Health Care Risk Report.

PDF: Positive risk-taking: an idea whose time has come

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