Social Work Me

Episode 25 dives into the crossover between creativity, mindfulness and social work. Joined by Jorie Morrow who is a registered social worker, psychotherapist, certified mindfulness meditation coach/facilitator and professional actor, playwright and producer from Toronto, Ontario. On this episode we cover: -Working in community mental health setting + generalized practice -Open Access counselling...

On Episode 24 Matt is joined by psychologist and psychotherapist Roger Solomon to talk about trauma, grief and EMDR. Roger has over 40 years experience in the mental health field and is currently the program director for the EMDR Institute.  He is an author, international trainer in basic and advanced EMDR, and consultant for the US senate, NASA and has provided clinical services and training to t...

On Episode 23, Matt stays close to home with an interview with clinical social worker Kirsten Dezort who is a certified EMDR therapist, consultant-in-training and the coordinator of the Sarnia EMDR regional group. Kirsten has been a licensed clinical social worker for 16 years and has worked in Michigan and Sarnia in both agency and private practice settings. On this episode we cover: -Understandi...

On Episode 22, Matt sits down to 'chew the fat' with Clinical Psychologist- Matt Pugh and Compassion Focused Therapist/CBT Therapist- Tobyn Bell from England. Matt and Tobyn are the directors and founders of Chair Work - an organization which aims to provide research, training, therapy and supervision surrounding the use of chair work. On this episode we cover: -Chair work & it'...

On Episode 21, Matt connects with Mark Micelli who is the National Programs Manager at the Waves of Wellness Foundation. Mark is a registered Social Worker from Ontario, living and working abroad in Sydney, Australia. Mark shares his journey that started with a passion for water sports in Windsor and led him to Australia where he works with the Waves of Wellness organization providing Surf Therapy...

On Episode 20, Matt chats with Robin Antone who is an Indigenous helper with decades of experience in the addictions and mental health field. Robin shares his story of growing up in the foster care system, his personal struggles with substances and how he started his healing journey and path to becoming an addictions and mental health counsellor.  Robin shares his passion about healing work for in...

Matt is back with a previous guest from Episode 5- Dr. Tatiana Zdyb. Tatiana is a Clinical Psychologist, Professor at Kings University College and has recently launched the first Psychedelic Enhanced Psychotherapy practice in London, Ontario called Mind Setting. On this episode we talk about: -Psychedelics, altered states of consciousness and the Default Mode Network -Personal experiences with psy...

On Episode 18 Matt speaks with guest Deborah Epstein who is a former teacher, guidance counsellor and now a psychotherapist in private practice in Toronto, Ontario. For 20 years, Deborah has worked with children and adolescents in the school system. She has extensive experience working with Middle School students and teenagers. Much of her career has focused on helping children and adolescents lea...

On Episode 17 Matt interviews Michelle Young from London, Ontario. Michelle is the first and only Black/person of colour, Director of Service with the Children’s Aid Society of London & Middlesex (CASLM).  Her passion has always been using her voice to challenge oppression and the status quo in all areas of her life, so having the lead role in guiding the CASLM through a multi-year organizatio...

On Episode 16 Matt interviews Greg Samuelson who is a Registered Nurse and Registered Psychotherapist from Toronto. Greg is one of the founding members of the Canadian Network for Compassion Focused Therapy and he runs a private practice called GPS Psychotherapy as well as works for the Mindfulness Clinic in Toronto. On this episode we discuss: -What is compassion focused therapy (CFT) -Overview o...

On Episode 15- Matt sits down with Social Worker and Sport Psychology and Performance Consultant- Brenley Shapiro about working with elite athletes and teams. As the first female mental performance coach for the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL, Brenley brings a wealth of experience and insight in the areas of cognitive behavioural therapy, sports psychology and mental skills training on the show. In th...

We are back after a summer break with our guest- Michele McPherson for episode 14. Michele is a Clinical Social Worker, EMDR Therapist and certified Yoga Instructor. On this episode we cover: -Basics and principles of yoga, meditation, mindfulness, trauma sensitive yoga -Considerations and launguage when working with trauma survivors and clients who dissociate -Introductory poses for clients new t...

On Episode 13 we take a step back from the clinical aspects of social work and psychotherapy and talk about the back end of running a private practice and a small business with the founder and CEO of OWL Practice- Andrew Sloss.  Andrew talks about his history in the tech and business field and how his skills helped to launch his wife’s private practice and take care of all of her administrative ne...

Episode 12 is all about working with men in therapy with our guest Eric Pierni from Men’s Therapy Toronto.  Eric discusses his path to private practice which began in the tech world and how he became a psychotherapist, sex addiction therapist and the founder of Men's Therapy Toronto. On this episode we discuss the process of seeking out therapy as a man and some of the factors that lead to su...

On Episode 11, Matt geeks out with Lisa Matlovich from Sarnia, Ontario about all things nutrition, genetics and microbiome. Lisa is an Orthomolecular and Nutritional Consultant with over 20 years experience working with individuals to improve their physical and mental health. Lisa dives into how nutrition, microbiome, methylation and genetics interact with mental health, physical health and our ov...

Episode 10 is all about Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) with our guest Lauren Markos. Lauren is currently in her last semester of the MSW program at the University of Buffalo and has over 10 years experience in the social work field including time spent in child welfare, the criminal justice sector and working with indigenous populations. On this episode we discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on comple...

Our guest on Episode 9 is Kathy Steele who is a psychotherapist, trainer, consultant and author from Atlanta, Georgia with over 35 years experience. Kathy is the Past President and Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), and has also served two terms on the Board of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Kathy served on the Int...

On Episode 8, Matt chats with Social Worker, Psychotherapist and developer of Emotion Focused Mindfulness Therapy (EMFT)- Bill Gayner. Bill dives into his history with Buddhism, some of the ethical issues that surround the religion and how this and his mindfulness practice led him to the social work field. His background working in a hospital setting working with gay and bisexual men with HIV as w...

On Episode 7- Matt interviews social worker and child protection supervisor Katie Glaves.  With over 25 years experience in child welfare, Katie talks about her path in social work including growing up as a foster family and the process she experienced as a foster sibling. We discuss the grief and loss involved with fostering, the push towards inclusive fostering and the process that foster famili...

On our final episode of Season 1 we stay close to home in Sarnia, Ontario where we interview one of our community's most experienced therapist and clinical social worker. Gail Furlan has been practicing for over 40 years and has been trained in a variety of different modalities and has found that Holographic Memory Resolution (HMR) Therapy to be the most efficient and effective in her work wi...

On Episode 5 we interview Clinical Psychologist and King's University College professor Dr. Tatiana Zdyb from London, Ontario. In this 30 minute interview we cover a lot of ground including her Best Rated Psychologist Award for 2 years running, operating a successful private practice, mindfulness & meditation as well as working in a prison setting and with individuals diagnosed with borde...

On Episode 4 (Part 2) we continue our conversation with Psychologist and Sex Therapist- Dr. Guy Grenier in London, Ontario.  We expand on our discussion about Ontario's comprehensive sex education curriculum, the Catholic curriculum and conversion therapy.  (*Correction from the episode: The Catholic sex education textbook is called 'Fully Alive') Dr. Guy dives into sex therapy with...

On Episode 4 Matt & Julie meet up with Dr. Guy Grenier, a Clinical Psychologist, Sex & Marital Therapist and Author in London, Ontario.  Dr. Guy uses a healthy dose of humour in his work as a sex therapist and in this interview we get a glimpse into the world of sex therapy, pornography, comprehensive sex education in Ontario and all the fun stuff in between.  To find out more about Dr. Gu...

On Episode 3 Julie & Matt interview Family Lawyer and Mediator- Amanda Gaw from Sarnia, Ontario.  In this episode Amanda helps us to explore topics surrounding divorce, separation, custody/access and signs of parental alienation in a family law setting. Amanda's child centred approach to family law is also discussed with tips and recommendations for parents, lawyers and those in the helpi...

Matt and Julie take a road trip to London, Ontario to interview Dr. Amanda Bell about her experiences working in group homes, child protection and in treating sexual offenders and sexual assault survivors. Amanda discusses the importance of doing our own work and her  personal experience with vicarious trauma.  EMDR and Play Therapy are two modalities that Amanda teaches and uses in her private pr...