The Social Work Café

Welcome back to the Social Work Café! In this episode, Ichat with the dynamic and passionate Jody Bell. We explore how emerging leaders in social work can thrive when they are well supported in the workplace. We also discuss her burnout resource and her hopes for progressing professionalregistration in Australia. It’s an energising and inspiring conversation that highlights the importance of sustaining social work careers through c...

Welcome back to the Social Work Café! I haven't disappeared. I just took a little unscheduled hiatus. I’m thrilled to return with a brand new episode featuring the fabulous Nicole Okimura! In this celebratory chat, Nicole and I talk about a recent co-publication (open access) we created together, which is based on her Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) research. While grief and loss can be a weightytopic, Nicole brings thoughtfu...

In this episode, I sit down with Jasmin Lagaali, a specialistsocial worker in NSW Health. Jasmin shares insights into her work in a unique consultation service for individuals with intellectual disabilities and mental health distress. We discuss the challenges of working within a system thatoften prioritises speed over quality, the importance of holistic and multidimensional assessments, and the need for manageable workloads in soc...

In the first episode of Social Work Café Season 3, Kasey Henshaw returns to share her experiences from her first year as a qualified social worker. We discuss the transition from student to practitioner, the challenges of professional identity, and the importance of reflective practice. Kasey highlights key lessons, including setting boundaries to prevent burnout and finding joy in small moments. We also explore the need for system...

Welcome to Season 3 of the Social Work Café podcast! I'm Dr. Bernadette Moorhead, your host, and I'm thrilled to have you join us for another season of insightful conversations over coffee. This season, we're introducing a new theme: "What is one thing about social work that you would change to make it better?" Each of our ten guests will delve into this question, offering their unique perspectives and ideas f...

In this bonus episode I am joined by a very special guest, Denis Ginnivan, a social worker who has lots of experience working at the grassroots level to facilitate political engagement of citizens. Denis talks with me about his fascinating social work career and how he became involved with local politics as a founding member of Voices for Indi, which has led him to share his experiences and expertise with other communities and soci...

Welcome back to the Social Work Café. This week I am joined by another former study buddy, the fabulous Sim Rajkumar, who is an experienced social worker, especially in the area of Defence. This is a field of practice that employs a number of social workers and yet does not get much focus or coverage in our social work programs. It’s time to pull back the curtain and learn more about social work practice in the context of the Defen...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Social Work Café. Supervision is a highly regarded professional development activity in social work. Yet, it is often reduced to an administrative or managerial task. I talk with an experienced social work supervisor, Jazmin Pursell, about how the supervision relationship can be set up so that critical reflection is central to the process and can be mutually beneficial for those involved.

Lear...

Welcome back to the Social Work Café, where this week we return to my favourite topic – professional identity in social work. In this episode, one of my dear colleagues, Garth Norris is joining me in the café for some reflection on his career and ever-changing social work identity. Garth has enjoyed a whole range of jobs, and is now straddling his academic hat with his leadership hat as CEO of Endeavour Mental Health Recovery Clubh...

Welcome back to The Social Work Café, where this week we go digital. When it comes to using digital technologies, the global pandemic has shifted a lot of perceptions and sped up the transition to online practice. While going online comes with a lot of benefits, there are also a range of ethical and practical challenges that social workers need to carefully navigate. To explore this exciting space, I am joined in the café by an ama...

Welcome to the latest episode of the Social Work Café. In season 1, we covered social work in the health sector. This week we return to that topic by looking at social work practice in rural health settings. I speak with an incredibly experienced social worker, Liz McRae, who has done just about any health role. Liz shares her wisdom about health social work and how she achieves our professional objectives in rural settings.

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Welcome back to the latest episode of the Social Work Café. One of the most popular episodes of season 1 was about trauma-informed social work. So, let’s dive deeper into this topic by taking a closer look at a new trauma-informed hub that was launched in early 2024 in Albury-Wodonga, Australia. The hub is directed by two experienced social workers, Emilia Barrow and Cassandra Cuttler. They both join me in the café to talk about ho...

Welcome back to the Social Work Café. Field placement is essential for students to develop their professional identities and social work practice framework. It is also an ideal setting to learn how to become a disruptive social worker! To explore this tantalising topic, I am joined by the fabulous Dr Shirley Ledger who did her PhD in this area. We explore disruptive social work practice and the ways in which social work students an...

It is not uncommon for some people to be deemed too “complex” or “difficult” to treat in the mental health system. In this episode of the Social Work Cafe, we meet a passionate social work therapist and advocate who is determined to address those outdated ideas. Alex Wilson is an experienced practitioner with her own private practice, Mindful Recovery. Alex shares her social work perspective on working in the mental health space, e...

Episode summary

Dr Will Dobud is back in the café to explore the wild side of social work! He survived chatting with me about feedback-informed treatment in season 1. This time he is going to speak with us his number one passion of wilderness therapy. Will is going to clarify some terminology in this field, as well as explain the theory and practice methods that are common to this field. Be sure to stick around for this advice on h...

Welcome to the launch of season 2 of the Social Work Café podcast. I’m your host, Bernadette Moorhead, aka Dr B. In this brief trailer, I reveal what’s in store for season 2, including the question that each guest will answer.  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 Social Work Café.  

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For our last episode for 2023, I’m joined in the Social Work Café by Kasey Henshaw, a dedicated listener who is about to graduate! We’re going to talk about what she has gained from listening to season 1 of the podcast and how she would answer that all-important question: What is social work? Dr. B will chime in with her very own answer as well.

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Welcome back to the Social Work Café. As a profession largely consisting of women, it is no surprise that many social workers embrace a feminist worldview. We are passionate about liberation, class struggle, and addressing gendered injustices, which are exemplified in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With this in mind, does contemporary social work adequately centre feminist theory and practice? To examine this question, Jac M...

Episode summary

The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) plays a key role in promoting our profession at a global level, especially through the international definition of social work. But what is it that makes social work a global profession? In this episode, I speak with Dr. Sebastian Cordoba, an Australian social work educator at RMIT and member of the IFSW Asia-Pacific Regional Representatives of the United Nations...