Meet The Services Team
Meet The Services Team
Cian Aherne
Clinical Coordinator at Jigsaw Limerick.
As a Clinical Psychologist, I felt that Jigsaw offered a great opportunity for my skills and insights to be valued and utilised in developing an evidence-based service. I’m delighted to be in a position of responsibility and to be taking a lead in the overseeing of clinical work and service processes.
Another attraction of the post was that Jigsaw is actively interested in seeking out the opinions and experiences of young people in order to inform the service. I had been used to services that were informed almost entirely by professionals and management, whereas I was attracted to a service that actively sought out voices from young people themselves and from their communities in general.
A typical day in Jigsaw for a Clinical Coordinator offers a lot of variety! For me, it tends to start with some form of meeting with the team (regarding referrals or caseload or operations), ongoing communication with my leadership partner Gerry, some individual therapeutic sessions with young people, some form of supervision (group, peer, individual or my own), a talk or liaison piece with other local services and maybe a half hour for yoga at lunch time if I’m lucky! Once every few weeks I tend to travel to Dublin for a Jigsaw Learning Network of some description, which is a great way to link in with my peers in the national network.
I like how Jigsaw strives to be a progressive service. Ideas and change are a constant as the service is always reshaping itself to meet the demands and recommendations of young people, the community and the evidence base for effective practice. There is a regular communication loop between local, regional and national which I also value as you feel like your ideas and those of your team are always in the mixing pot as national policies and strategies take shape.
I have heard many people comment that the people who work in Jigsaw almost always seem to be a great fit. This is definitely my experience to date also. There seems to be an energy and general positive regard in each person that I have met in the organisation and seeing this on a daily basis at a local level gives me a great boost each day. Gerry and I try to put a large emphasis on the team culture in Jigsaw Limerick and we do our best to have each team member’s voice heard in all that we do. We hope that this contributes to the shared view that we can make a positive difference to the lives of people who need it; we feel this is reflected in the values of the service nationally.
Mary Scott
Clinical Support Worker at Jigsaw Cork
I qualified with a Masters in Social Work in UCC in 2014. I initially worked in Children in Care and then worked in CAMHS in Limerick for over two years. In my time in CAMHS I really enjoyed working with young people and I had built up a lot of training and experience in relation to working with young people.
CAMHS is at the Secondary level and very much intervenes at the crisis stage. I was attracted to Jigsaw because its model is within the primary care level and Jigsaw’s goal is to intervene early, so as to prevent a young person’s difficulties becoming more enduring.
When I was first considering to work in Jigsaw the main questions that came to mind were in relation to the working of the transdisciplinary team, what my role within that team would be and my duties and responsibilities. As I was moving from the HSE questions in relation to my pension, annual leave and increments were areas that I had queries about. The preventative model of Jigsaw and its core values influenced my decision to take the job. The permanent position was also a very influencing factor.
A typical week in Jigsaw includes three to four appointments per day and there is always allocated time to write up case notes. During the week there is a mixture of meetings. On Monday morning we have a check in to discuss what is happening in the week, number of clinicians in hub, etc. We have our clinical team meeting every Wednesday morning and on Friday evenings there is always a meeting scheduled, ranging from a business process meeting where we discuss prominent issues that are coming up for clinicians to group supervision or in-house training. Clinicians also have fortnightly clinical supervision with the Clinical Coordinator and monthly line management meetings with the Project Manager.
Everyone within the team is very supportive and there is an open culture of discussing cases with team members and the Clinical Coordinator when required. There is a culture of transparency within the team and all information relevant to our work is communicated openly. Within the team I also feel supported in relation to clinical work and training.
As a Social Worker I feel my skills fit in well with the team. When I meet the young person I always locate them within their environment and have an awareness of the systemic element which may be contributing to their difficulties. The values of empowerment, social justice and working in collaboration with the young person are all values that I can apply in practice in Jigsaw.
The key differences that distinguish Jigsaw from other mental health services is the passion and values that clinicians have for their work, and the involvement of the Youth Advisory Panel, whose voices carry credence and weight within the service.
Violet Johnstone
Clinical Support Worker at Jigsaw Dublin City
I'm a qualified Counselling Psychologist. As a clinical support worker in Jigsaw Dublin City one of the things I really value about my job is that every week is filled with a lot of variety. One of the most essential aspects of my role is the one on one therapeutic work with young people.
I love this work and it is very fulfilling when you can help someone to feel better or to achieve a goal that is important to them.
This work is dynamic and challenging, and often during the course of one day I will have appointments that vary from an initial meeting with a young person to saying goodbye and ending. I think this helps to keep the momentum up for me, and helps me to feel engaged and interested.
I also really like the opportunity to go to trainings, and the continuing professional development and education that Jigsaw provides. It is so important to me that I do not feel stagnant in my work, but that I feel I am encouraged to grow and provided with options that help make that possible. I feel I always have a lot of opportunity to discuss my work with young people in clinical supervision, and I also feel I have the freedom to discuss my own goals and hopes for my future career, and that these conversations are welcomed.
Another aspect of my work with Jigsaw that I enjoy is delivering training in the community. This week I will be co-facilitating a workshop in the community aimed at helping adults who work with young people to help them better understand youth mental health. It’s valuable and important work to help lower the stigma around youth mental health in Ireland, and I also like the opportunity to further develop my skillset.
One of the things that is most important to me in my work is that I can be authentic, and that I have freedom to use my skills and to work with young people in a way that best uses my training, clinical skills, and also my unique personality. I do not feel micro-managed in Jigsaw, but I do feel supported, which is key.
When I was growing up in The States my family did not have a lot of money and I know there were times when sitting down with someone and getting to have a chat about how I was feeling and some of the things I was going through would have helped so much, but my family just did not have access to that sort of thing. It means so much to me that I get to give to someone now, an experience that I really could have used growing up, and that it is available to them without the barrier of cost.
Finally, I really appreciate the people that I work with. This is serious work, but I can always depend on my colleagues to provide a bit of craic or even just to lend an ear if I want to talk something over.
