David Gowar

I live in England. I am a musician and ex-music lecturer who also spent 8 years as a residential social worker. I have an MA in Social and Political Science from Cambridge University, and was invited to become a member of Worcester University's service user and carer group (IMPACT) in 2013 to share my experience of DV and post-separation abuse. I have experienced years of false allegations and institutionalised prejudice, and of being routinely belittled and dismissed by professionals, all of which have affected my own mental and emotional health (I am currently receiving EMDR therapy for PTSD).

The voice and perspective of People With Lived Experience (PWLE) is essential to social work practice; to support good practice, challenge inadequate practice and thereby contribute to the improvement of social work intervention ( Tanner, 2017; Westwood et al., 2017). These authors concur with most of the literature that student social workers are well served by learning from PWLE. These contacts are described as the ‘pivotal link’ ( Westwood et al., 2017, p. 856) for learning about essential social work skills. However, they go on to conclude that this can diminish post-qualification as service delivery and resource management is prioritised. Indeed, Branfield et al. (2007) highlight diminishing interest in learning from PWLE post-qualification.