My former colleague Judy Treseder, who has died aged 81 of Covid-19, made a significant contribution to the development of social work, multidisciplinary training and research within child and family mental health services.
She was born in Gosport, Hampshire, to Marie (nee Scott), a nurse, and Richard Treseder, a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy. Judy refused to be defined by the fact that she lost her sight at the age of five following meningitis, which also caused a disabling scoliosis. This only added to her determination to get the most out of life.
She attended two boarding schools for visually impaired children, Dorton House, then in Buckinghamshire, and Chorleywood college in Hertfordshire. Guide dogs were frowned upon at Chorleywood, despite the ethos of encouraging independence, but this did not deter Judy, who later found that her succession of beloved guide dogs enabled her to achieve just this.
From Chorleywood she went to Oxford, gaining a modern history degree at St Anne’s College and a diploma in social administration at Barnett House. After working as an unqualified social worker at Portsmouth child guidance clinic she took the mental health in social work course at the London School of Economics, where she was inspired by lectures from Donald Winnicott.
Upon qualifying, Judy moved to the social work department in the Maudsley and Bethlem Royal hospital, in south London, first in the adult department and then, for 13 years, as principal social worker of the children’s department, working in a clinical team with Lionel Hersov and me. Much respected, Judy combined humour and rigour in her clinical and teaching work, influencing countless multidisciplinary colleagues and trainees.
Subsequently, Judy became co-ordinator of hospital social work in Lambeth, based at St Thomas’ hospital, later moving to the RNIB to manage a consultancy to local authorities on developing services for blind and partially sighted people.
Judy was chair of what is now the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, only the second social worker to be appointed to this prestigious role in a multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to improving child mental health services. Throughout her career, she published many research papers that contributed to the development of evidence-based social work practice.
In 1979 Judy married Alan Smith, and they lived in Nunhead, south London, until 2014, when they moved to Olney in Buckinghamshire. They shared a passion for Labour politics, music and adventurous holidays. Judy took early retirement in 1993, remaining committed to voluntary work, including being chair of Action for Blind People and a governor of Highshore special needs school, then in Peckham.
Judy is survived by Alan, and her brother Hugh.
