profile image Susan Kelly

Welcome

I’m Susan and I qualified in social work in 1988, and have more than 30 years experience working with people. I am now an Independent Trainer, Mindfulness Teacher and Consultant working to support resilience and wellbeing in the public and voluntary sector.

Following a cycling accident in 2005, I suffered a serious head injury and my life changed overnight. As well as the physical injuries, I experienced neurological issues which were painful, scary and debilitating. These are the invisible effects of traumatic brain injury and can be much harder to live with, well after the broken bones have healed.

As part of my mission to get well again, I began focusing on nutrition and mindfulness and believe these were central in helping me recover as well as I have.

Life always brings more challenges of course and, following a fall, I now also live with chronic neurological pain which I manage with mindfulness practice. This is what life is like sometimes- challenge after challenge. And so we learn to adapt and to regain our balance. And repeat.

As a busy social work manager and 'chronic over-worker', I had little in the way of resilience tools in my toolkit in 2005. I've worked hard since to correct that. I had no choice really.

I now work to help the helpers learn some resilience strategies and practices of their own. There is no quick fix or 'one size fits all'. This work crosses our home and work lives and is complicated sometimes - but with a little support, we can all find our own way. It's rewarding work and I get to be with some of the most compassionate and dedicated people there are.

Nowadays, I find peace in the little things - connecting with people, walking, reading, growing food and cooking. I spend less time trying to make my life perfect, and more time accepting my own human-ness. I know that we all have a great capacity for change and recovery.

I've learned to keep heart and keep hope. There is always a way back.

Professional Training

Social Work

  • Registered Social Worker, Social Work England: SW75694

  • 1988 Uni Northumbria: BSc (Hons) Applied Social Studies w/CQSW

  • 2001 Uni Leicester: PG Cert Supervision and Mentorship w/AASW

Nutrition

  • 2009 Uni Middlesex CNE: BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy

Mindfulness Teacher Training

  • 2011 Bangor University: MBSR/MBCT Teacher Training (professional route)

  • 2013 NHS Sussex Mindfulness Centre: MBCT Teacher Training

My Approach

I believe that personal resilience work is only part of the jigsaw of resilience - supportive teams, compassionate leadership, appropriate working conditions and aligned policy frameworks are essential too. My own work is primarily in the personal and team resilience areas. There is no ‘one size fits all’ - I offer creative approaches focusing on autonomy, choice & inclusivity. Encouraging curiosity and experimentation is central to my approach.

“Susan works with us on our Children’s Services resilience programme and delivers a range of training courses including some capacity building work with managers which we commissioned and developed together. The work she does is creative, innovative and evidence based and makes a difference by giving managers the strategies to work in a demanding environment, as well as the means to develop that capacity amongst the teams they manage. I’d recommend her work to any service/organisation or individual that takes seriously supporting their staff and have plans to develop and retain a skilled workforce who focus on their own and others wellbeing.”
— Nicola McGeown, Principal Social Worker, East Sussex

Publications

Journal

Gail Kinman, Louise Grant, Susan Kelly (2020) ‘It’s My Secret Space’: The Benefits of Mindfulness for Social Workers, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 50, Issue 3, April 2020, Pages 758–777,

Book

Kelly S & Parkes R (2014) Mindfulness for Resilience in Social Work in Grant and Kinman (ed) Developing Resilience for Social Work Practice Palgrave Macmillan: London

Paper

Kinman G, Grant L and Kelly S (2016) ‘Can mindfulness build resilience in social workers?’ Proceedings of The British Psychological Society

Feedback on Mindfulness Courses

  • I have gained the real ability to take a step back, even if for a few moments and to focus on the calmness of my surroundings, which in turn helps me to get to the bottom of some of the families meanings and focus on our families one at a time, rather than everything swimming around together

    Children's Services Practitioner, East Sussex

  • The trainer showed a high level of personal commitment to facilitating the course, and the structure of each session was helpful in creating a calm and reflective space for the participants to learn about and experience the benefits of mindfulness practice. Each of the sessions was a very rewarding chance to step back from the hectic day-to-day nature of our work and think about how we can be better prepared for the difficult situations we face

    Social Worker, Children's Services Source

  • The structure of each session was helpful in creating a calm and reflective space for the participants to learn about and experience the benefits of mindfulness practice. Each of the sessions was a very rewarding chance to step back from the hectic day-to-day nature of our work and think about how we can be better prepared for the difficult situations we face

    Social Worker, Children's Services