My name is Nisha Munogee and I’m a Social Worker for the Interventions for Vulnerable Youth project, better known as IVY.
I started in May 2023 after 7 years of working with adults in the criminal justice system, mainly within a mental health service for women. This involved a trauma-informed approach which has been invaluable in moving to IVY, where we work with complex young people who display high-risk behaviours. Many have experienced significant trauma.
The social work role in IVY provides unique and varied opportunities to work in a psychologically informed way. IVY is consultation based, and my job involves co-facilitating these meetings alongside an IVY Psychologist. We offer a space for the young person’s support teams to discuss the risks and needs involved in cases and to think about how to shape support plans going forward. We write an initial set of considerations arising from the consultation, as well as a fuller report which includes a risk assessment and a formulation to aid in a psychological understanding of the young person’s needs.
Often consultation will be enough for the team around the young person to think about how to go forward. It can be a valuable reflective space to aid multi-disciplinary working as well as give new perspectives on risks and needs. I know from experience of being a social worker in community teams that the role within councils is highly pressured and does not often allow for workers to have this kind of space to think therapeutically about things are going.
As an IVY Social Worker, consultations are always interesting and provide an opportunity to learn from the practice of Social Workers all over Scotland as well as being able to offer learning from my own experiences. We can also become involved on a longer-term basis if there is a need for specific work to be undertaken with the young person. This gives the role a balance of consultations, report writing, development, and direct contact with young people. Interventions can take the form of structured work around emotional regulation, trauma, developing coping strategies, and supporting young people who struggle with sexualised behaviour. We do this work with the system around the child in mind, which is essential for it to be meaningful.
There are challenges and barriers as in any organisation, but the flexible and creative set up of the service allows us to work in a holistic way with high-risk young people, centred around their needs, vulnerabilities, and strengths.