Lucy Basterra

I am a registered Social Worker and qualified Practice Educator with over ten years’ practice experience in Brighton & Hove.  After qualifying, I went on to specialise in supporting those affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence, having a particular interest in understanding, and working with trauma.  I have further experience working in substance misuse treatment settings where I designed and delivered the substance misuse training programme for B&H City Council.  Before I moved in to lecturing, I worked for the Fulfilling Lives Project, which was one of 11 programmes nationally that provided intensive and tailored support to people with multiple and complex needs, helping the most vulnerable and hard to reach.  I held several positions within the project, including Operational Manager and Systems Change Lead. We worked alongside people with lived experience of multiple disadvantage, to achieve positive changes in services and make them better connected and easier to access.

My background in developing and delivering training programmes, and my experience of Practice Education brought me to lecturing, and I joined the team as a permanent member of staff in 2018.  I teach across the BSc and MSc programmes and from 2022 I will be joint Course Lead for the MSc/PGDip programme.

I have a PG Cert in Academic Practice with Advance HE Fellowship (FHEA).

My interests in practice, teaching and research are centred around women’s experience of domestic abuse, trauma, and complex needs (homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill-health, and offending).  This extends to seeking to understand the systemic barriers that exist which makes accessing, navigating, and engaging with services problematic, as well as exploring how these topics are taught to social work students and how well-equipped students feel to meet the needs of this service user group upon qualifying.