Rosslyn Dray
I joined Bournemouth University in September 2017 and have teaching responsibilities in practice learning which creates natural links to practice through the Teaching Partnership and external partners. My teaching also includes mental health and substance use, drawing on my practice experience in this field.
I am currently undertaking a Phd which focuses on exploring the role of mistakes in social work practice learning and how this can lead to meaningful learning.
I have worked in a range of roles including practitioner, workforce development and supporting strategic leadership in Adult Social Care. In practice, I worked within community mental health teams as a social worker and Approved Mental Health Professional. This involved working with adults experiencing severe and enduring mental health issues. I also have experience as a safeguarding adult practitioner, I have worked within a multi-disciplinary team delivering Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, and worked as a Best Interest Assessor (BIA). I am also a qualified counsellor and psychotherapist (CPCAB).
I am a qualified Practice Educator and am also interested in the role and influence of effective supervision within practice. As a practitioner I understand the importance of receiving good quality supervision to provide foundations for creative and robust practice. It all centres on relationships
Research and Recent Publications
Articles
Healy, J. and Dray, R., 2021. Missing links: Safeguarding and disability hate crime responses. The Journal of Adult Protection 24 (1), 43-45.
Chapters
Dray R, lake S, Mayall H. Working with adults with mental health issues In Lee, S., and Oliver, L., 2023 Social Work Practice with Adults Learning from Lived Experience. SAGE
Research:
- I am fortunate to be working with Dr Jane Healy (BU) and a colleague from Royal Holloway University, Karl Mason, on a cross-disciplinary project around the topic of safeguarding adults and disability hate crime. Building on a public involvement consultation event in January 2023 and an initial scope of literature, we are hoping to bid for funding for a project which considers how safeguarding practice may be able to utilise restorative approaches to improve outcomes for people who experience disability hate crime.
- I have been involved with a further cross-disciplinary project with Dr Humaira Khan from AECC. Humaira is a public health promotion researcher and has undertaken studies on substance use during pregnancy. We worked together on a study involving students across two universities and facilitated a session for social work students in 2021-2 on the risks of pre natal exposure to alcohol or drugs using simulator dolls. We have written up the study and hope to publish our paper on using a creative pedagogy with social work students.
PhD Research
I am particularly interested in the learning journeys of social work students and how these experiences can shape professional identity and am fortunate to be researching the area in relation to how learners experience mistakes within my Phd. Based on my previous experiences, I am drawn to using qualitative methods, narrative and psychosocial approaches to research. I am passionate about using creativity to enable learners to find their own way, to work with challenges, and to recognise their strengths. I hope my Phd will create useful knowledge in this area.
