The Social Work Café

Episode summary Welcome back to the Social Work Café. Have you ever been sitting in another pointless meeting that could have been an email? Perhaps this has prompted you to flirt with the idea of becoming your own boss? In this episode, I have the perfect guest to talk about the journey of becoming a private practitioner. Cass Fletcher is an experienced social worker, therapist, and early-career...

Episode summary Welcome back to the Social Work Café . In this episode, Vicki Shevlin joins me for an exciting conversation about newly qualified social work. Vicki started her own podcast to give practical advice and support to newly qualified social workers in the UK. She shares those insights with us, which I am sure will be helpful to social work students, new graduates and even experienced pr...

Episode summary While I love a steaming hot bath and a chill session on my couch, self-care in social work is so much more than what you do as an individual outside of work. Today I am chatting with an amazing and experienced social worker, Mikaela Higgins, who works in the child welfare sector. Mikaela gives us important insights into workplace self-care and how necessary it is for organisations...

Episode summary Can you be a social worker in any job, even if you work outside of the human services industry? I have the perfect guest joining me in the café to explore this question. Karise McNamee has enjoyed a fascinating social work career across government, non-government, and private practice, including outside of the human services world. Karise shares insights from her captivating career...

Welcome back, café dwellers. Joining us in the Social Work Café is my adventurous colleague Will Dobud , aka Docbud (or even Dodobud). In this episode, we examine how social workers can get FIT , without putting on spandex. Evaluation is an important part of social work practice, but are we doing it in a meaningful way that invites genuine feedback we can use to improve? Docbud explores this quest...

There has been a green explosion of social work literature on environmental social work. To help us make sense of what this all means for social work practice, the wonderful Associate Professor Heather Boetto and social worker, Laura Fletcher are joining us in the café. Heather and Laura have been researching, teaching, and doing community projects in this exciting area for a number of years. Toge...

Social workers are being increasingly employed by public libraries . I am incredibly excited to learn more about this burgeoning field of practice. Joining me in the café is the first library social worker in Texas, Patrick Lloyd . He has been writing and presenting on library social work for a number of years and has a lot of wisdom to share. You will learn how library social work is taking form...

What does a social work practice framework look like? In this episode, we have the perfect guest to explore this question. Sue Wilkins is an experienced practitioner, academic, and early-career researcher. Like me, she has an enduring passion for social work developing and promoting our collective identity. In our conversation, Sue inspires us to think about the components of a social work practic...

Episode summary Let’s talk about sex. No, put the 80s crimping iron down! Sexual and reproductive health issues are rarely addressed in social work education and practice. It’s time to examine these taboo subjects and the role social workers can play in this field. Our guest is the wonderful Katie Murrell-Orgill , another very dear friend and former study buddy. Katie is now an incredibly experien...

Episode Summary Today our guest is my dear friend and colleague, Cat Crutchett, who is a senior social worker in health. We studied together, and across her career, Cat has been employed in a number of exciting hospital and community health roles. In this episode, I talk with Cat about social work practise across the health sector, as well as how perceptions of social work are finally shifting in...

Episode summary There are some really intriguing changes going on at the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW). To find out more, we are joined by the fabulous Cindy Smith , Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AASW. Cindy reflects on her journey as CEO and how she has made it her mission to promote professional identity through the AASW. Her passion for this topic is infectious, so tune in...

Welcome to the very first episode of the Social Work Café . We start this exciting journey with the main question of season 01: what is social work ? Joining me in the café is a very dear colleague, Katrina Gersbach . I ask Katrina about how she discovered social work and determined it was the right profession for her. She shares some great insights that can help students and practitioners explain...

Welcome to the launch of the Social Work Café podcast. I’m your host, Bernadette Moorhead , aka Dr B. In this brief trailer, I tell you more about season 01 of this exciting educational series, and how you can become a friend of the podcast. Whether you are a social work student or practitioner in any part of the world, this podcast is for you. So go brew your favourite drink and join me in the So...