Shehzad Malik
Senior Teaching Associate in Social WorkProfile
I am a registered social worker and UKCP registered psychotherapist with extensive experience of therapeutic and direct work with people. Before joining the teaching team at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, I worked with problem drug and alcohol users in the NHS and Voluntary Sector for over 15 years. I have worked in Learning Disability Services, as a social worker in Children and Adult Services, with young offenders, and as a counsellor in the NHS. Alongside my role as a Lecturer at Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é, I currently work at CancerCare in Lancaster, counselling people experiencing loss, bereavement and the sequelae of diagnosis and treatment.
I am a passionate teacher with over 30 years experience. I was Deputy Course Director of the ¡®Post Graduate Certificate and Diploma in Drug and Alcohol Treatment’ at the University of Leicester Medical School (from 2004 to 2013). From 2008 to 2016 I was a Teaching Fellow on the ¡®Foundation Degree in Drug and Alcohol Counselling and Treatment’, at the University of Leicester.
I began using and teaching Motivational Interviewing over 25 years ago. I really love MI as a way of working collaboratively in fostering change; I enjoy sharing the MI approach with others. I have taught MI at Leicester University, trained workers in a wide range of agencies nationally; and since 2017 on the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Social Work Course.
I have a lifelong interest in mindfulness and completed my MSc in Mindfulness Based Approaches at the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice at Bangor University in 2015. I have engaged in research into using mindfulness with problem substance users and have facilitated mindfulness courses in a variety of settings.
Mindful embodied presence is a key thread in my work with individuals, groups and in teaching. I consider self-care and resilience as essential professional skills and embed these throughout my teaching. I passionately believe in bringing heart into the classroom. This is consonant with our commitment to relational and trauma informed practice.
My Role
I teach on the undergraduate social work programme.