About Me

My name is Richard McGuire Devine.

I am a Social Worker for Bath and North East Somerset Council. I qualified in 2010 and worked in long term child protection for several years. From 2017 until 2021 I was employed to undertake community-based parenting assessments. Since 2021 I have been employed as Consultant Social Worker developing, maintaining and championing expertise in specific areas of social work practice and driving excellent practice based on research and professional experience.

In 2018 I completed my Masters in Attachment Studies in Roehampton. I have undertaken training in a number of attachment procedures including CARE-Index, Child Attachment and Play Assessment (CAPA), School Aged Assessment of Attachment (SAA), Marshak Interaction Method (MIM), Video Interactive Guidance (VIG), Meaning of the Child Interview (MoTC) and DMM-Adult Attachment Interview (DMM-AAI). Ultimately, my primary ambition is to work with children and their families in a way that improves outcomes.

In 2020 I decided to start a blog. The purpose of this is primarily to have a system in which I commit to a practice of writing in an attempt to facilitate my own learning and development. I came across this quote on social media and it summarises my intention well: “If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.” — George Orwell. The role of a social worker is a complex one. I have always been compelled to read and learn as much as possible about the issues pertaining to children and families with the aim of improving my utility in helping others, or at least, decreasing the likelihood of being unintentionally harmful. Much of my writing will be an attempt to resolve my vision of a system of help and protection that doesn’t involve the need for children to be permanently removed from their families.

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You can also find me on the perplexing world of twitter: https://twitter.com/RichardDevineSW