How I prepare to work with organisations
I bumped into S at a drawing class and soon we began to talk about a conference she was co-organising form an organisation she belonged to, The Association of Radical Midwives (ARM). She told me their theme was around finding voices and psychological safety. Recognising that this topic fell within my area of expertise, I proposed conducting a workshop to examine these compelling themes. I also agreed to write an article for their upcoming Spring edition of Midwifery Matters magazine. (see my blog for the full article.)
It was agreed I would do so and I went off to research and plan and prepare.
During my research, I encountered a considerable amount of negativity directed towards midwives in the media. For example, the Guardian newspaper featured several headlines that reflected this negative sentiment.
“Maternity Services need investment in people and training, not another review.” Guardian UK – 4th March 2026
“World is short of a million midwives.” Guardian UK 20th January 2026
“Black women in Georgia turn to midwives for safer births – so why does the state criminalise them?” Guardian UK 11th April 2026
“Women feel coerced during maternity care in England, Charity says.” Guardian UK 17th March 2026
“Warning system to spot poor care at NHS England maternity wards.” Guardian UK 8th December 2025
Such coverage exemplifies the ongoing challenges faced by professionals in the field, impacting public perception and potentially affecting psychological safety within the profession.
Since I wasn’t familiar with this profession, I focused my research by also reading a years’ worth of their members’ magazine, Midwifery Matters. This gave me an insight into the midwives’ view of the profession and their struggles, gave me more of a balance.
The research phase of my work with organisations
As I work with organisations, this phase of engagement with them allows me to understand the context of their existence and the challenges they face as well as the service they offer and where their successes are. ARM gave me the following feedback:
“Her professional start from the beginning was impressive; she prepared a well thought out proposal and had given careful thought to adapting her knowledge towards an unfamiliar area for her (midwifery), and committed to appraising herself of midwives’ historical, current and pressing issues.” (S April 2026)
I decided to offer a workshop based on psychological safety, in a stressed system, by using clay. In the article I said:
For a midwife, whose voice is often subsumed by protocols, shift patterns, staff shortages and the heavy life or death responsibility for others’ lives, I believe that clay can offer a unique sanctuary. In my many years of experience, I see psychological safety often failing in the workplace because we try to ‘talk’ our way into feeling safe; but our nervous system doesn’t always believe the words, it won’t be fooled. Clay is a bottom-up therapeutic tool, and by focusing on the resistance of the clay in your palms, your pre-frontal cortex – the part of your brain that worries about ‘saying the right thing’ – settles down. (Midwifery Matters March 2026)
I put together a proposal to the conference organisers, they accepted, they date was set and I turned up on the day to meet a whole group of people I hadn’t ever met before to offer them a workshop about psychological safety and finding their voice. I wondered, ‘how am I to build enough safety and trust with people I hadn’t met before?’ I also wondered ‘how will I manage this even though I am a stranger to their area of expertise.
Well, why don’t you look at the next blog to see how I managed this!