Events

PRETORIA BRANCH
DATE: 24 October 2018 - Workshop and Group Discussions
TOPIC: “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Anxiety States: What Occupational Social Workers need to know”OCCUPATIONAL SOCIAL WORK WELLNESS: WORK-RELATED STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT, BURNOUT AND RISK FACTORS AND SELF-CARE”
SPEAKER:  LT COL S.S. MONARENG
Clinical Psychologist, Area Military Health Formation
VENUE: Auditorium, SITA Building, Erasmuskloof, Pretoria

JOHANNESBURG BANCH
DATE: 31 October 2018 - Presentation and Group Discussion
TOPIC: “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Anxiety States: What Occupational Social Workers need to know”
SPEAKER: Dr Jan Chabalala
Head of Psychiatry, 1 Military Hospital
   Programme Developer and Trainer, SANCA National; and
Lecturer at University Witwatersrand as part of the Masters programme in
Occupational Social Work.
VENUE: Emthonjeni Centre East Campus, University of the Witwatersrand

PRETORIA BRANCH
DATE: 18 October 2017 - Presentation and Group Discussion
TOPIC: RISKY BUSINESS: SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS IN THE WORKPLACE FOR PROFESSIONALS
SPEAKER: MS ADRIE VERMEULEN
Programme Developer and Trainer, SANCA National; and
Lecturer at University Witwatersrand as part of the Masters programme in
Occupational Social Work.
PLACE: Auditorium, SITA Building Erasmuskloof, Pretoria


JOHANNESBURG BRANCH
DATE: 25 October 2017 - Presentation and Group Discussion
TOPIC: DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH CARE USERS: A WORKING KNOWLEDGE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SOCIAL WORKERS.
SPEAKER: DR J. CHABALALA
Head of Psychiatry, 1 Military Hospital.
PLACE:Nedbank Lake, 16 Constantia Boulevard, Constantia Kloof, Roodepoort

PRETORIA BRANCH

SAOSWA Pretoria committee members organised a training event on 16 August 2017 that was attended by 55 social workers. The speaker, Ms D.D Du Toit from Military Psychological Institute (MPI), an industrial psychologist by profession, presented on “Inevitable Conflict Confronting Occupational Social Workers in the Workplace”. She indicated that conflict may occur between individuals, people and groups. Conflict refers to the opposition of persons or forces giving rise to some tension, or to a disagreement between two or more parties who are interdependent. She further stated that conflict can be functional (constructive) or dysfunctional (destructive). It is an everyday certainty with both benefit and costs. This means that conflict does not have to be a negative experience alone; it can serve as important and positive in the achievement of organization goals. In an organization or at the workplace, various types of conflict management styles can emerge among employees: competing, collaborating, avoiding, accommodating and compromising. Each employee may have a dominant conflict management style, while the situation may also influence the individual’s conflict management style. The potential positive outcomes of conflict include providing feedback, indicating the need for change, making supervisors and managers aware of problems and may serve to motivate the need to address perceived problems. Feedback received from workshop delegates indicated that the social workers found great value from the workshop. NOTE: The slide presentation can be found on the SAOSWA Web-site “Member Tab” which is reserved for members who paid membership fees.

JOHANNESBURG BANCH

On 29 August 2017 the Johannesburg Branch of SAOSWA organised a very successful training event in the form of a presentation and group discussion on the topic: “Risky Business – Substance Use Disorders in the Workplace for Professionals” It was attended by more than 35 members which indicated a strong interest in the topic. The speaker was Adrie Vermeulen, Program Developer and Trainer at SANCA National; and lecturer at Wits as part of the Masters in Occupational Social Work. She demonstrated her expertise in the field of Substance Use as well as a very a thorough knowledge of the impact it has in the workplace. She presented the topic in a very interactive manner with a variety of exercises which involved the audience and made the presentation very practical. The passion she has for the topic was definitely passed on to the participants. She also stimulated participants to broaden their knowledge on Substance Use and provided interesting new research and reading sources. The feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive. The experienced the event as the best for SAOSWA so far and requested a further presentation on specific Strategies in the workplace. NOTE: The slide presentation, hand-outs, exercises and research and theory links will be placed onto the SAOSWA Web-site under “Member Tab” which is reserved for members who paid their membership fees.
IT'S GAZETTED

On 14 July 2017 Council reported about clinical and forensic social work regulations which were signed in July by the Minister of Social Development for gazetting. Council is pleased to announce that these regulations are now gazetted and Council’s secretariat is busy finalising processes for registration, which will be published on all our platforms once finalised.

You can read more about these regulations here:

https://www.sacssp.co.za/links/clinic-social-work.html
https://www.sacssp.co.za/links/clinic-social-work.html

UPDATES & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. The Professional Board for Social Work meeting will take place from 12 to 13 September 2017.
2. If you want to advertise with Council, please visit our website or follow this link for our rate card. https://www.sacssp.co.za/links/SACSSP-Advertising-Rate-Card_2017-09-08.html

Please share this news with your networks as well.

JOHANNESBURG BRANCH

JOINT EVENT FOR PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG BRANCHES

28 JUNE 2017

THE HISTORY OF THE FIELD OF OCCUPATIONAL SOCIAL WORK

SAOSWA committee (Pretoria and Johannesburg) members organised a well-attended workshop. The speaker Prof Paul Maiden, University of Southern California, presented on “The History of the Field of Occupational Social Work”. He is an expert on the topic: has written books, has done work wrt substance abuse in the work place, violence in the workplace and runs an international Masters online degree in Occupational Social Work. He provided information concerning the history of EAP and Occupational Social Work in Britain and United States, specifically in the area of substance abuse. He set out the difference between EAP and Occupational social work, namely, EAP is a Multi-Disciplinary Team field of practice while Occupational Social work is a profession. He also provided context to EAP and Occupational Social Work today, reflecting how the economy has influenced EAP intervention. Furthermore, he described Occupational Social Work practice in the military and police settings in the USA. His presentation showed that, in comparison to USA, South Africa holds its own very well in terms of rendering Occupational Social Work services to members and families. For example, when South African military and police members retire, they are still entitled to free social work services as Veterans. His presentation was insightful and relevant to Occupational Social Workers. The participants gained knowledge and shared their experiences in group discussions which was then discussed with Prof Maiden.

Click here to view more information

JOHANNESBURG BRANCH

29 March 2017

“The Employing Organisation as a Client: Workplace Interventions”

Mrs Arista Bouwer

Private consultant and retired workplace specialist, DOD

PRETORIA BRANCH

22 March 2017

“The Role of Social Workers in Palliative Care”

Ms Penelope Mathe

Hospice Witwatersrand (Soweto)

The SAOSWA Pretoria branch hosted a successful CPD presentation and group discussion on the topic, "The Role of Social Workers in Palliative Care ". The speaker, Ms Penelope Mathe, from Hospice Witwatersrand (Soweto) is experienced in both palliative care and play therapy. Social workers were equipped with unique and specialised knowledge, attitude and skills to be able to attend to any client/patient with life limiting illnesses. Ms Mathe emphasised social work ethical considerations, practical standards for social workers and also reminded social workers of their role in advocacy.


JOHANNESBURG BRANCH
Past Events 2016

26 October 2016
“Secondary and Vicarious Trauma: Implications for Self-Care”
Dr Francine Masson
Department of Social Work
University of the Witwatersrand

The last seminar for the year of SAOSWA’s Johannesburg branch took place on 26 October 2016 and was presented by Dr Francine Masson. She addressed the subject of secondary and vicarious trauma in practitioners such as occupational social workers, sharing many of the insights from her doctoral thesis on the secondary effects which may result from recurrent expose to trauma. She pointed out how susceptible occupational social workers are to secondary and vicarious trauma, especially in settings which routinely face the violent nature of our society. Francine shared her research findings on this subject, as well as her thoughts regarding strategies that occupational social workers can employ to mitigate the effects of secondary or vicarious trauma in their personal lives. Members enjoyed Francine’s presentation and group discussions. They gained much food for thought, together with new ideas, regarding their own position vis-à-vis secondary and vicarious trauma.

24 August 2016
“Reflective Practice Using Research as a Tool”
Dr Victor de Andrade
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology
University of the Witwatersrand


29 June 2016
“Alternative Dispute Resolution”
Dr Angela du Plessis
Independent consultant and founder of Occupational Social Work in South Africa

A very successful workshop was hosted at Johannesburg’s new venue in the Nedbank Lakeview building. The speaker was Dr. Angela du Plessis, the founder of Occupational Social Work in South Africa as well as a founder member of FOSWA (Forum for Occupational Social Workers) which led to the formation of SAOSWA (SA Occupational Social Worker’s Association. Angela du Plessis is extremely experienced in both workplace and Divorce Mediation. She made her paper on “Divorce Mediation” available to distribute to members who attended the workshop.

30 March 2016
“Social Media, Social Culture and Professionalism”
Thandi Smith
Media Monitoring Africa


PRETORIA BRANCH
Past Events 2016

19 October 2016
“Creating a Wellness Environment in the Workplace”
Lt-Col Wilson
Department of Defence

Motivational speaker:
Darryl Thomas

At their last seminar for the year on 19 October 2016, Lt-Col Wilson addressed the Pretoria SAOSWA branch on how to create wellness and happiness in the workplace, facilitating exchanges and discussions on this subject. Lt-Col Wilson is involved in military training and development and has a special interest in wellness in the workplace. Employee wellness is a buzz word in the occupational social work industry and therefore this presentation was very insightful and relevant to the day-to-day work of an occupational social worker. On a lighter note Mr Darryl Thomas, a freelance motivational speaker and financial adviser, delivered an uplifting speech to members on how to take charge of their lives.

17 August 2016
“The Road Accident Fund: the Role of Social Work”
Suzanne Greef
Rebecca Moloto
Road Accident Fund

The SAOSWA Pretoria Branch hosted a successful CPD event on 17 August 2016 on the topic of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and the role of the social worker in that. Road accidents can have far-reaching effects for all who are involved and social workers can play a role in empowering our clients who are affected by the consequences of a road accident. The RAF provided highly skilled personnel from their legal, claims and medical department to train SAOSWA members on details and the working of the fund. Overall this was an interesting training session with tremendous utility value both professionally and personally.

22 June 2016
“Cyber Bullying and Online Sexual Exploitation”
Dr A Basson
Mrs G Zulu
UNISA Youth Research Unit

A very successful event was hosted on the topic of “Cyber Bullying and Online Sexual Exploitation”. The speakers, Dr A. Basson and Mrs G. Zulu of UNISA Youth Research Unit, are experts on the topic. Members who attended the workshop found the subject enlightening and the content relevant to their own lives and their work. On request of the participants the speakers made their presentations available to members who attended the workshop.

16 March 2016

“Bereavement” Dr A Falkson
Clinical psychologist
1 Military Hospital