YOUR HOME. THEIR WORKPLACE. - Episode 4 With Guest Dr Shabnam Berry Khan of Psychworks Associates on trauma, interdisciplinary wheel, value-based recruiting and more

YOUR HOME. THEIR WORKPLACE.

Ep 4 – Dr Shabnam Berry Khan of Psychworks Associates on trauma, interdisciplinary wheel, value-based recruiting and more

Welcome to Episode 4 in this Series 1 of YOUR HOME. THEIR WORKPLACE. In this episode I talk about “Teleworkers” – the name in the 1980s for Virtual Assistants of today. Then I talk with Dr Shabnam Berry Khan, psychologist, case manager, business owner of Psychworks Associates.

As a case manager, Shabnam and her team work with people with multiple complex disabilities. The majority of her clients have care staff – support workers, rehabilitation assistants, buddies and more - who work in the clients’ homes.

What are the challenges that are faced? There are many. As a psychologist, you’d expect Shabnam to deal with trauma, she says: ” The bottom line is we're working with people and where there's people, there's trauma. That's the truth of it and it informs everything we say, everything we do, how we interact with one another. So in order to be a good anything with people - case manager, HR person - you have to consider employees, you have to think about that trauma informed perspective. What is this person bringing? That's the issue right here and right now. But what is all the other baggage that they're bringing with them that is colouring how they're interacting with me right now.”

There is much to unpack and Shabnam brings an honest perspective – it's not all roses. We talk about how to recruit in this very difficult sector that encroaches on people’s private lives. It’s not only about the job role, but about the people involved. The different layers of people.

I loved Shabnam’s description of what I have heard of as a “multidisciplinary team”. She says: “So we try and work more interdisciplinary. Everyone is connected to everyone else. And I describe it as kind of like a wheel. You’ve got the hub, the clients, and then you’ve got the spokes going out. But if you don’t have the tyre around the edge ...”

In essence, the case manager’s role is bringing people together, helping the employees carry out their role, to bring ideas to the table, to meet certain standards, to support their performance, whilst realising that not all suggestions and ideas will work for a particular client or a particular family. The case manager needs to ensure that the carers are valued, even though there is not really a clear career path, and the role may prove monotonous, or they may not fit with a client of a family - another aspect of employing care workers.

Shabnam ends by saying “May God bless the support worker!”

Thank you Shabnam for your time and very interesting points of view. Visit Psychworks Associates webpage and follow them on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shabnam-berry-khan-psychworks/

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Remember, YOUR HOME is THEIR WORKPLACE, so make it a space that inspires you and inspires the people you employ to care for your loved one.

I look forward to spending time with you and in the meantime, stay safe. Stay well.

This podcast is brought to you by Cecily Lalloo, advocate for employers, employing care staff because YOUR HOME is THEIR WORKPLACE.

Links:

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Employing-Care-Staff-Your-Home/dp/1447849485

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