Inside Social Work

This week’s episode takes a look at something a little different, getting a job. Kate Taylor, founder and managing director of Taylor care recruitment, shares with the inside social work listeners a range of tips and advice to land that perfect job. Kates tips for students on placement (what opportunities should they take up to improve their employability for when they graduate ?) Encourage them t...

This week's episode explores the world of school social work. I talk with Kylie Lloyd, who shares her experiences transitioning into social work as a mature student, while balancing the requirements of the degree and also being a single mother of 2 children. Kylie shares her experience being a learner as an adult and how she transitioned from HR to volunteering for Lifeline then making the jump in...

In this week's episode, Katrina shares her experience working with families in a school setting and in a hospital setting. Katrina has written an article looking at family therapy for child and adolescent school refusal which can be found in the show notes.  Katrina is a clinical family therapist and a full clinical member of the Australian Association of Family Therapy (AAFT).  She is an accredit...

This week's episode takes a look at working with diversity, in particular with LGBTQIA+ people. The way we communicate is important, it doesn't just communicate the content of what we're doing, it communicates our beliefs and assumptions about the world.  I hope this episode gives you some ideas and tips on how to be more inclusive in your practice. This is a real area of need and we know the stat...

Episode 20: Working close to home, experiences of a social worker in rural Victoria.  In this episode, Lachlan Slade shares some of his experiences working in rural communities. We talk about some of the challenges of living and working close to your clients and how to have a conversation about appropriate boundaries.  Lachlan shares some of his self-care tips and how he manages to stay energised...

  In this week's episode, Louise Hayes explains some of the basic principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT.   Louise is a clinical psychologist, peer reviewed ACT trainer, an academic, author, speaker and active philanthropist. Louise uses ACT with young people in schools and clinical settings. She is a world expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT) for young people a...

This week's episode Lillian shares some ways we can manage anxiety during tough times.  We talk about needing alone time, balancing work-life balance and how to support someone when they share with you when they’re in distress. Lillian Nejad, PhD, is a registered and endorsed clinical psychologist and author with over 20 years of experience in the assessment and treatment of individuals with mild...

  In my interview with Cathy we talk about the benefits and challenges in running a private practice.  She shares some insights into the fears allied health professionals have in this area. Cathy Love is an Allied Health Business Coach, Speaker, Author and Occupational Therapist. She is the founding director of Nacre Consulting. She coaches allied health business owners to run powerful businesses...

Man up, talking men's mental health With Kylie King In this episode I talk with Kylie King about male suicide. We discuss the language to use when talking about suicide , look at the statistics in Australia and in particular men's mental health.  While unpacking ideas of masculinity we talk about some of the barriers men face seeking help around their mental health.  Kylie King is a research fello...

In this episode we talk about how to make the most of supervision, how to be a supervisor and some of the issues social workers encounter when running a business. Jane shares her experience working in a range of fields locally and internationally, training, educating and supervising. She shares her top tips for making the most of supervision and empathises with supervisors who are working with pas...

  Laura Rouhan is the co-founder and general manager of friends for good. She has a background community development which spans over 15 years. Laura also manages a local neighbourhood house in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.   Throughout Laura's work with people she heard a lot of people talking about being lonely Some were well connected and well resourced individuals that they were not gettin...

Going from student to professional and starting a social work newsletter with Joanne Young and Alice Cairn Jo is doing her final year of a Masters of Social Work (Qualifying), and is currently supporting caseworkers working with vulnerable families and children. Alice is a social worker in a residential educational setting and recently graduated from a Masters of Social Work (Qualifying). Alice an...

In this episode, Sarah and I talk about the challenges of working with schools and balancing wellbeing and student academic outcomes. Sarah shares some of the various programs, some schools are implementing to support students with their wellbeing and mental health. We discuss the impact of being in a caring role and supporting those around us, Sarah shares her self care tips and how to set bounda...

Today's show looks at a different way working with survivors of sexual assault. In this episode, you’ll hear how Clare uses trauma-sensitive yoga to support survivors of sexual assault. Clare Pritchard has been practising yoga since 1995.  She is a Certified Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) Facilitator, a Certifed Iyengar Yoga teacher, and has completed a number of certificates in yoga...

Khadine Aharon is an Accredited Social Worker who specialises in EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques).  She has more than 25 years of combined experience in Community Services and Natural therapies industries.  Khadine has worked with hundreds of people in individual, group and community settings. EFT has become one of her favourite transformational tools and she is passionate about sharing this tec...

  In this episode, we talk about burn out and why self-care is crucial to prevent burnout. Helen shares her personal journey in the social work profession and how she experienced burnout while managing a team. This led Helen to develop her own burnout course and resources to support social workers.    Originally from the UK Helen studied Social Policy and Politics at The University of Newcastle Up...

Episode 8 Teen Mental Health First Aid  Dr. Laura Hart is a Senior Research Fellow in the Engaging Minds in Body Image and Eating Disorders (EMBodIED) Research Team at La Trobe University’s School of Psychology and Public Health, and in the Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, at the University of Melbourne.   Dr. Hart has been working in population mental he...

Show notes  In this episode, I chat with Dr. Claire Kelly, the Manager of Research and Evaluation at Mental Health First Aid Australia.  We chat about the distinctions between mental health and mental illness, barriers to help-seeking, and the impacts of not getting treatment early. Dr. Kelly shares insights on mental health literacy, the importance of early intervention, and how Mental...

How to build a close and trusting relationship with clients while maintaining professional boundaries.  What are professional boundaries?   While thinking about this topic I went through some of my old textbooks and none of them had anything about boundaries. I found it interesting that something so fundamental to our work it not explicitly taught or often discussed in depth. We talk about needing...

Vittorio and I share stories of why we got into social work, sharing some of our challenges, struggles and memorable moments. Vittorio has been a social worker for over 40 years, with experience in health care, teaching and private practice. He is the host of a podcast called ‘just another do-gooder’. He shares some of the things that drew him to social work as a career and why he got into podcast...

Interview with Verity Best and Josette Gardiner : Counselling for children affected by family breakdown. Working with families and children in mediation, dispute resolution and family conflict. In this interview with Verity and Josette, co-directors of focus counselling service, we talk about how to work with children who are experiencing family breakdown or conflict. Verity and Josette's share so...

With Associate Professor Ronnie Egan, we explore the need for quality student placements, what stops people from taking on a student and the unexpected learnings and rewards. We discuss some of the support and training options available to those interested in having a student.  As well as, how to get in touch with the university about offering student placements.   Dr Ronnie Egan is Associate Prof...

In this interview with CEO Grant Holland, we discuss his journey from working with cars to becoming a Social Worker and Family Therapist. We take a look at some of the various roles he’s had and how his career led him to establish the creative and innovative employment training program at the Holland Foundation, which has helped 506 people get jobs in the last 6 years. The Get Ready for Therapy Jo...

Hear about how Slater and Gordon’s free Social Work service exists to support their clients Australia-wide who are facing a wide range of emotional and practical concerns as they move through the process of claiming compensation. We discuss a range of issues relating to social workers and their understanding of the law and the ongoing training and workshops the social work service runs to educate...

This podcast episode will look a little different to future episodes. Its a chance for you to get to know the host Marie Vakakis  and hear about her motivations for the podcast. The Inside Social Work podcast is a podcast interview series that aims to entertain and inspire Social workers  illustrating the diverse world of social work through conversations with industry leaders, colleagues, peers,...