Profession:

Speech and Language Therapist

Location:

Kent

Work context:

I have worked with care experienced children and young people and others who have social emotional and mental health needs (SEMH), as well as those who support them for over 25 years. This experience has taught me a lot and has sparked a keen interest in understanding these young people and how best to support them. I have written Children with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties and Communication Problems, co-authored Language for Behaviour and Emotions and worked with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists  to develop a variety of resources (fact sheets, clinical guidelines and online learning). I recently contributed a chapter on this to Sparkes C., Simpson, S. & Harding, D. (eds) 2025 Supervision in Speech and Language Therapy: Personal Stories and Professional Wisdom (Routledge).

I also offer training about SEMH & Speech Language and Communication needs (SLCN) and the impact of attachment and trauma on language and communication.

Experience, training and membership:

• A qualified speech and language therapist, a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
• Registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council
• MPhil in children and young people in care who also have speech language and communication needs
• Fellow of the Higher Education Teaching Academy
• I am committed to ongoing professional development which includes supervision courses through intandem and my own supervision and reflective practice

Description of supervision approach:

I offer supervision to speech and language therapist and others who work with children and young people with mental health needs, including those who work in CAMHs, SEMH Schools, Social Care and independently.  I often support speech and language therapists to work collaboratively in developing services for these children and young people.

My supervision is trauma-informed and I have worked with many clients and supervisees who are experiencing the impact of traumatic experiences and working towards processing them.  I am also influenced by my own liberatory supervision, thinking about how I can support supervisees whose minority status, be that neurodivergence, disability, sexual orientation or race (and indeed intersectionality) influences their interactions personally, professionally and with clients.  I aim to offer anti-oppressive supervision and to provide a space to consider what needs to be learned and unlearned.

I have been inspired by the attunement based intervention Video Interaction Guidance (VIG). Through training to be a Video Interaction Guider and VIG Supervisor I have learned a lot about the nature of interactions and how to empower people to make them positive and rewarding.  This approach has not only taught me about supporting interactions between clients, but also provided an opportunity to reflect on my interactions with clients and supervisees.  I have also undertaken training in positive psychology and resilience which heavily influences my work and what I can offer supervisees. I am keen to help supervisees achieve a work-life balance and to develop the skills to be resilient in difficult situations.

I can offer a safe, supportive, reflective space for collaborative problem solving.  Supervisees might want to think about cases, service development, their own skill development, interventions, or just how to keep their head above water! Supervision can offer different things at different stages of your career and each session might have a different focus. Sometimes supervisees have an agenda, sometimes they may just want to see what emerges. They might want my opinion to know what I think, or they might want me to help them reflect and find their own ways forward. They might want to be challenged, or not! It’s up to the individual and I see supervision as a means to help people recognise their own strengths and achieve their potential. I work collaboratively with supervisees to find an approach that works for them and to evaluate our work together.

Contact details:

Email: melaniespeechie@gmail.com

Get in touch if you’d like an introductory session to see if we could work well together.