Social Work Practice with Adults: Learning from Lived Experience

Sally is lecturer and Programme Lead for social work at Bournemouth University. She is also undertaking research on a variety of projects including mental capacity, adult safeguarding and sexual well-being. She completed her doctoral research in 2016 exploring social work practice, physical disability and sexual well-being. This work continues and she is currently developing learning materials (including a short film) around sexual well-being for social care and health practitioners. Sally brings to her academic role extensive social work practice experience built up during more than 25 years of working in diverse practice settings and services. Her research interests focus on often marginalised populations including investigating the experience of financial abuse and the detriment to individuals and society beyond financial loss.

Louise is a qualified social worker and has predominantly worked within children’s social care. Louise is currently a lecturer in social work at Bournemouth University. Louise completed her PhD in 2019 and her key interests are child-to-parent violence and abuse, working with disabled children and learning from the lived experience. Louise embraces biographical research methods as it illuminates the lived experiences and helps develop an understanding of social work across the life course.