Leisa Tanner

Leisa Tanner, a social worker in the field of child and youth mental health, decided to choose social work as her profession because of her desire to help others.

"I had a desire to confront disadvantage on a broader societal level?(and I realised) that the purpose and philosophies of social work were consistent with my own interpersonal values and would offer me more opportunities to address disadvantage at both micro and macro levels," Leisa said.

After entering university straight from high school, Leisa completed her 4 year degree in 1991 and obtained her Bachelor of Social Work from The University of Queensland.

" I felt that my degree prepared me very well in some areas, in particular in providing me with a framework of analysis of disadvantage, as well as giving me with a way of viewing the world and people's problems, which has since continued to be part of my foundation of practice over the years. " she said.

Leisa gained her first social work position as a social worker for the Department of Social Security in Logan and found that she was able to work as a front line worker in a disadvantage area with high unemployment.

"As a new graduate, I was lucky enough to be offered a position fairly quickly so I accepted the position with the thought that it would be nice to get paid?(and) in hindsight I can see that it was good to work in a broad generic service before I specialised in a chosen field.

Looking back I can see it was a good stepping stone to the area that I really wanted to work in, domestic violence and later on child protection," she said.

Since her first social work position, Leisa has been employed as a women's and children's counsellor in domestic violence services and women's refuges, as a child protection officer in Social Services in London and currently as a social worker at child and Youth Mental Health in Logan. Leisa admits that keeping motivated in her chosen profession can sometimes be quite difficult.

" It's hard to define what keeps you going in the profession and I would be lying if I didn't say that there have been times when I have been close to burn out and it has only been the prospect of my next pay packet," she said.

"But at other times, it has been the thought of those clients who have been honest and brave enough to share their stories with you and who feel you have made a difference, even if you don't feel that what you did was particularly valuable."

" I once had an experience of a client whom I worked with a few years ago, come to see me at a different service many years later and she recounted some words that I had said to her which she felt had helped her and that she had never forgotten.

"They were words that I honestly could not remember saying and yet they were meaningful for her. I guess it struck me then that I'm very lucky to be doing the work I do and sharing people's lives during their most critical, vulnerable moments. It's that feeling that, very occasionally, you might be doing something valuable that makes a difference to someone, that keeps me going."

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