If this year is anything like the last one, it’ll be very busy.
So how do we stay ahead of the knowledge curve so that our practice doesn’t suffer?
Image courtesy of ©123rf/scyther5 (adapted)
5 quick ways to broaden your knowledge and stay up to date…
Here are 5 things that I do to keep in touch with events and research in the field of harmful sexual behaviour work – I’ve given the broad areas and provided a couple of examples of each to get you started:
1. NEARI Press – Sign up for the NEARI Press newsletter – they issue it FREE on a monthly basis and usually include a summary of a piece of research relevant to working with HSB. Visit the website and subscribe for the monthly email… Whenever you discover a useful website, look to subscribe to the newsletter – unsubscribing is usually easy and you might just discover a real gem!
2. Summaries – Read the NOTA monograph on assessment of children and young people with harmful sexual behaviour – this is a piece I wrote for the Policy and Practice sub-committee of NOTA. Stewart Allardyce and I recently revised and updated it. It’s a brief monograph summarising the assessment of children and young people with harmful sexual behaviour. It’s NOT a “how to…” document; rather it explains a little of the history and then lays out the major assessment tools, protocols and structures currently available, with references.
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3. Join your national affiliate organisation; here’s a list of some:
NOTA – UK & Ireland – visit the website and join a.s.a.p. There is a local branch network, regular training around the regions and a fab national conference each September, as well as others in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. There is also a journal, The JSA for members which is a must read for those with an interest in this field of work.
ATSA – the North American affiliate organisation with all the benefits of NOTA. Their journal, The Journal of Sexual Abuse Research & Treatment, is also a must.
ANZATSA – the Australasian equivalent of NOTA and ATSA with their own journal and the usual member benefits…
IATSO – The internation Association for the Treatment of Sexual offenders- some great conference presentation material is available for down load on the website.
Subscribe & get my FREE e-book: “Connecting With Troubled Young People” – click here…
4. Check out wwwJuvenileSexOffenders.com – it’s an unfortunate name, but it’s North American where the ethics of language on the issue are less sensitive… It’s a new site with a lot to offer. Take a look! Or try the Sex Offender Management Assessment & Planning Initiative – it’s got a great juvenile section…
[callout]”Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.” Samuel Johnson[/callout]
5. Subscribe to related blogs and social media streams of people in the field – I use LinkedIn a lot and often find really useful reading material there… (e.g. Stewart Allardyce, Phil Rich, Michael Seto, Tom Cleerman, David Prescott) I also use Feedly to set up alerts for articles and other web-based information as it gets published.
Click to see Jonny’s HSB resources page…
There is lots of fab information around, the trick is sifting it in such a way as to find the useful stuff. If you start with these 5 steps, you’ll be well on your way to keeping your finger well and truly on the pulse.
Enjoy!
Your thoughts?
- How are you keeping up with research, practice and events?
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© Jonny Matthew 2015
