Alex Alexander
BA DIPSW MA
Senior Lecturer in Social Work & Admissions Tutor
Location:
Priestman Building, City Campus
Phone: 0191 5153706 / 3192 / 2395 / 2201
Email:
alex.alexander@sunderland.ac.uk
Biography
Alex completed a Diploma in Social Work and Masters in Applied Social Studies at Durham University in 2004 then worked in Local Government before coming to work at the University of Sunderland in September 2009.
Alex has worked as a Local Authority social worker mainly with adult carers and also as part of a modernisation project for older people, then worked as a co-ordinator in Equality and Diversity legislation and policy for that Local Authority. Her most recent appointment prior to coming to the University was as Carers Lead Officer at another Local Authority, which was a role developing services and support to adults caring for adults.
Teaching Areas
Working with adults, safeguarding, mental capacity, older people, working with carers, adult care law, models of intervention, social work theory, communication skills.
Research Interests
Alex's particular social work interests are in the development of therapeutic models of social work to support carers and the role of Carers Assessments, older people and identity in social care, and the role of social workers in the Personalisation Agenda in adult social care.
Selected Publications
In Alex's role as Carers Lead Officer her work around social work practice included redesigning the Local Authority's Carers Assessment model for adults caring for adults; to develop the way this was used as a therapeutic tool to support social work practitioners to explore carers feelings around their caring role and work in partnership with carers to consider creative person centred responses to situations. She also set up a team of specialist carers social workers to work therapeutically with adults caring for adults.
