Relational Practice: a social work podcast

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , hosts Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey welcome back Dr. Adam McCormick, Professor of Social Work at St. Edward’s University, trauma expert, and author, for an in-depth conversation on reframing how practitioners connect with boys. Traditional direct-questioning methods often fall short when supporting boys carrying trauma, navigating th...

Ever wondered why a supervisor’s quick "got a second?" sends one co-worker into a full-blown existential crisis, while another completely ignores the email? It turns out our early attachment templates follow us straight through the office doors and sit right at our desks! In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , hosts Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey take a look at how adult a...

Ever wonder why a delayed text message or a slight shift in tone can send an adult's nervous system into absolute freefall? It's because the body never forgets the quiet relational ruptures of childhood. In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , hosts Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey take a deep dive into one of the most pervasive, misunderstood issues in clinical practice: aba...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , hosts Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey sit down for a deeply honest conversation with Dr. Adam McCormick, Professor of Social Work at St. Edward's University and author of Healing the Helping Professional: The Unfinished Business of Childhood Trauma . Drawing on his background as an educator, researcher, and former child welfare practit...

Let’s dismantle the most common misconception in social work: that boundaries are about keeping people out. Boundaries aren't about building fortresses; they are about managing the gate. In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , private practice social workers Dr Jodie Park and Rose Mackey explore what it means to maintain safe, ethical, and protective boundaries. Using the w...

Why can trauma make a memory from decades ago feel like it happened yesterday, while wiping other events out entirely? In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , private practice social workers Dr Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive into the neurobiology of trauma and memory. They break down how the brain processes information normally versus how it shifts into survival mode under...

"We were taught to be empathic. Nobody taught us what to do when it starts to hurt." Think of a client whose story has stayed with you, one you’ve carried home, or that found its way into your sleep. That isn't a sign that something went wrong. That is empathy doing exactly what it was designed to do. But how do we sustain that empathy over an entire career without burning out? In this episode of...

Trigger Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions regarding aggression, violence, and antisocial behaviour. We recognize this content may be distressing, so please prioritize your well-being while listening. Aggression is a topic that sits at the very heart of social work practice, yet it is rarely "one-size-fits-all". In this episode, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive into the nuances...

💡 How confident do you feel responding when a client dissociates mid-session? Dissociation is everywhere in our caseloads, yet so many practitioners feel unsure about what it actually is, how to assess for it, and how to safely respond in the room. In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr Jodie Park and Rose Mackey strip away the jargon fog to talk about the gaps between...

Trigger Warning : This episode contains detailed discussions about self-harm (non-suicidal self-injury). We recognize this content may be distressing. Please prioritize your well-being while listening. Discovering that a young person may be hurting themselves often triggers a level of fear and uncertainty in practitioners and caregivers that few other topics can match. Despite how common it is, se...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey go beyond the catch-all term of "stress" to explore the specific psychological injuries that social workers sustain on the front lines. We often feel that our exhaustion is a personal failure, but today we reframe it as a predictable biological and ethical response to a high-pressure system. Drawing heav...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey are joined by Professor Joanne Spangaro, a distinguished researcher and academic leader whose career is defined by a deep commitment to addressing gender-based violence (GBV). With a professional journey that began in 1984 as a sexual assault counsellor, Jo brings over four decades of frontline experienc...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey tackle the heavy weight of professional fallibility. We often feel that because we work with human lives, we aren’t allowed the luxury of being human ourselves, leading to those 3:00 AM "mistake loops" in our minds. Using the seminal work of Professor Eileen Munro, we dismantle the idea that errors are s...

In social work, we are often taught to "reflect" on our practice, but there is a deeper, more transformational layer called reflexivity. In this episode, Jodie and Rose break down these two distinct but interconnected methods for professional growth. Using the analogy of the Rearview Mirror (looking back at an experience) and the Mirror (looking at ourselves in the present moment), we discuss how...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , hosts Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive deep into the most essential tool in a practitioner’s toolkit: the art of truly hearing what isn't being said. They are joined by Ross Judd , an expert in communication and organizational culture, and the author of Listening: A Guide to Building Deeper Connections . For social workers on the f...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey explore a strategy often mistaken for kindness or "being an easy person," but which actually carries a high psychological price tag: Appeasement. We examine this issue through a multi-lens theoretical approach to promote deep sense-making for practitioners. By linking Attachment Theory, the Dynamic-Matur...

In this heavy but essential episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey confront the "national crisis" of domestic violence and the predictable patterns that lead to intimate partner homicide. Moving beyond media narratives that describe these tragedies as "senseless" or "out of nowhere," this discussion utilizes research from 2024–2026 to map out the "Pa...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , hosts Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive into the complex world of supervised birth family contact . Moving beyond the idea that supervision is a passive task, this discussion explores the high-stakes clinical skills required to protect a child’s emotional and psychological well-being during family visits. Drawing on research and lis...

What happens to parenting when the "private" family unit becomes a "public" system? In this episode, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey explore the "Glass House" of foster care, a space where personal lives are visible to the state and parental autonomy is reshaped by systemic oversight. We’re moving beyond the media debate to discuss what it really means to be a Public Parent. To succeed, foster care...

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive deep into the intricate world of Complex Trauma (C-PTSD). Unlike traditional PTSD, which often stems from a single acute event, complex trauma results from prolonged, repeated experiences—often within a relational context where escape is difficult or impossible. We explore: Defining the Difference:...

Trigger alert- there is a small amount of swearing in this episode. It is an emotive topic for us! A Critical, Timely Deep Dive for Professionals and the Community We understand it’s the Christmas period, and this is a heavy topic. But we also know that for many people navigating high-conflict relationships, the holidays can be the most dangerous and suffocating time of the year. This episode is d...

"Stop asking, 'What is wrong with you?' Start asking, 'What happened to you?' In our new episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive deep into applying a Trauma Lens to Emotional and Behavioural Regulation. Think about an Iceberg: the behaviour you see is just the tip. Beneath the surface are protective, biological responses rooted in trauma. Key take...

In this critical episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast , we centre the social work imperative: closing the harmful gap between progressive legal policy and inconsistent judicial practice in family violence matters. We tackle the tension where the legislative shift toward safety meets the judicial default of contact, often at the expense of protective mothers and their children. We...

It's time for a radical reframe: stop seeing complex behaviours as "disorganization" and start recognizing them as brilliant strategies for survival. This week, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive into the Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM), an advanced attachment framework that explains how trauma forces the brain to adapt by strategically blocking information. The DMM breaks self-protective strate...

Join Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey for a special Q&A episode where they tackle your most pressing questions about the complex world of social work. In this insightful and essential discussion, Jodie and Rose pull back the curtain on the profession, addressing: The Biggest Misconception: What is the most common misunderstanding about what a social worker actually does? Meaningful Participation...