Analysing the Relational Impact of our Work
Since 2013, MAST has used the Outcome Star tool to evaluate work done with children, young people and families. Data collected over the past 12 years has consistently shown significant positive results, set against national figures, indicating that clients have experienced a positive impact from different professionals in MAST at individual and systemic levels. This is important, not only for our clients, but also for professionals in the team to feel that their work and commitment is positively received and their efforts validated.
Over the years, as I have supervised Educational Psychologists in the team, there has been a consistent refrain of concern around whether their work has had impact. In the context of the professional training route for EPs, this is understandable, as the doctorate qualification is focused on research, evidence based practice and often using quantitative measures of analysis. In the real world of encounters and interventions with people the picture can be less tidy and quantifiable. In these situations, I encourage colleagues to think about their work on a more micro level through a relational lens.
In the months leading up to Christmas, there were a number of qualitative feedback comments from clients which included:
'You were the first person who really listened to my story' (a parent to a family learning mentor)
'My child has grown in confidence with going into school and with his friendships'(a parent to an Emotional Logic Practitioner)
'I couldn't have survived this term without you (a SENCO to an EP)
What the above captures, is the relational impact of our work, where a parent feels listened to, a child has experienced a number of individual sessions to make sense of their emotional needs and a SENCO experiences being 'held' and understood amidst the frontline demands of working in a school.
When we become involved in people's lives, with their various difficulties, concerns and barriers to move forward, our skills, strengths and professional experience lie in the capacity to truly listen and reflect back that understanding and compassion. Sometimes that can be enough. Carl Rogers reminds us of the importance of warmth, genuineness and empathy in our relationships to each other.
So as we move forward into a new year, perhaps this is an opportunity to reflect on the privilege of entering people's lives and the humility to appreciate that those small, but important, periods of positive attunement may have real sustained impact for our clients, giving hope for a positive pathway ahead.
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