Providing Psychosocial Mentoring Support to Zimbabwean Social Work Practitioner in Sefton
In 2023, I was contacted by the Director of Sefton Children’s Services and invited to think about how best to support Black Zimbabwean social work practitioners relocating from Zimbabwe to Sefton. This proposal outlined the support VOW could provide to both practitioners and their managers, recognising the importance of culturally informed, psychosocial and systemic support during periods of transition, adjustment, and professional integration. It also highlighted the need for reflexive spaces where practitioners could safely explore the dilemmas and challenges associated with working within unfamiliar organisational and cultural systems, while feeling seen and supported. Although the proposal was not progressed, it reinforced the importance of creating specialist spaces where practitioners can think things through and navigate the complexities of inequitable practice, transition, and belonging within the workplace.