Last month we brought you a repeat of our earlier conversation with Rosalie Pockett AM. Just as we were planning to re-broadcast the follow up episode with her research partner, Kim Hobbs, Kim was named Allied Health professional of 2023 by Western Sydney, LHD. When you listen to this conversation with her, you’ll understand why. Congratulations Kim! Kim’s award: https://thepulse.org.au/2023/11/23/since-1994-social-worker-kim-hobbs-has-been-dedicated-to-westmead-hospitals-gyaecological-cancer-patients-and-their-families / Special Issue Australian Social Work Social Work and Cancer. Editorial by Rosalie Pockett and Kim Hobbs Free Access. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2021.1988664?src= AASW Members: Australian Social Work Special Issue Social Work and Cancer Volume 75, Issue 2, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rasw20/current Prof Irwin Epstein on Clinical Data Mining: https://www.routledge.com/Clinical-Data-Mining-in-Practice-Based-Research-Social-Work-in-Hospital/Epstein-Blumenfield/p/book/9780789017093 Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

This month we bring you an encore release of our conversation with Rosalie Pocket AM who has spent years overturning the inequities and injustices built into our health system. In this conversation, Rosalie describes her abiding interests in the social and community based factors that influence people’s health. Next month we will follow this up with her research partner, Kim Hobbs, who will describe how to broaden the partnerships that research those factors If you want to follow up this conversation and hear about the newest practice frameworks in healthcare, learn about effective advocacy for the health sector, or build your professional networks, join us at the AASW’s Online Health Symposium “Practice Innovations, Challenges and Leadership Register here! Mentioned in this Episode Dr Rosalie Pockett AM University of Sydney https://fdp.edsw.usyd.edu.au/users/197 Social Work Health Inequalities Network SWHIN https://blogs.coventry.ac.uk/swhin/swhin/ = Mt Sinai Hospital Social Work Department New York – Social Work Leadership Enhancement Program https://www.mountsinai.org/locations/mount-sinai/about/health-professionals/social-work-services/professional-development https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00981389.2018.1439134?journalCode=wshc20 Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

For many people who see a social worker, it is because they are already involved in our health or community services system, and they are referred by another professional. This means they have to make contact with our formal service system, and this is something that doesn’t suit everyone. What if it was possible to walk into a public place like a library, and see a social worker? Even if you didn’t live in that local area? Who would fund a program like that? Is there a sufficient level of need for a library social worker? What difference does it make to the community? Erin McKeegan has the answers. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: https://news.melbourne.vic.gov.au/libraries-offer-a-safe-haven-for-melburnians-in-need/ Launch housing https://www.launchhousing.org.au/ City of Melbourne’s initiatives to prevent and end homelessness: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/community/homes-melbourne/ending-homelessness/Pages/ending-homelessness.aspx Review of the trial project: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01616846.2020.1825917 FURTHER READING An international perspective: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/03/1063985757/why-your-local-library-might-be-hiring-a-social-worker#:~:text=Art%20%26%20Design-,When%20the%20answers%20are%20not%20in%20books%2C%20some%20libraries%20hire,finding%20mental%20health%20and%20more . For a contrast to this inclusive approach, see this example of a policing and security-based approach: In the Library with the Lead Pipe: https://apo.org.au/node/271231 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

When young people walk through Alex Wilson’s door, they are already carrying the stigma from their long involvement in our mental health system. They know they have been called ‘Frequent Flyers’ or ‘treatment resistant’. Alex’s aim for her work with these young people is that they will feel appreciated, validated and empowered. Alex knows that this work involves risks. But Alex is not cavalier about these risks. Her rigorous approach to risk is where the conversation starts. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/cognitive-behaviour-therapy Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: https://www.sane.org/information-and-resources/facts-and-guides/dialectical-behaviour-therapy-dbt Continuing Professional Development available from the AASW CBT: https://my.aasw.asn.au/s/event-information?EventID=a2Y9g0000002KEBEA2 DBT: https://my.aasw.asn.au/s/event-information?EventID=a2Y9g0000002KEaEAM Related articles from Australian Social Work: YOUNG PEOPLE DESCRIBE WHAT THEY WANT FROM THEIR WORKERS: Zuchowski I, Braidwood L, d’Emden C, Gair S, The Voices of ‘At-Risk Young People About Services They Received: A systematic literature review, Australian Social Work , vol 75 (1) 2022, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2020.1776742 ASSESSING RISK IN YOUNG PEOPLE: Lemon G, Stanford S, Sawyer AM Trust and the Dilemmas of Suicide Risk Assessment in Non-government Mental Health Services, Australian Social Work, vol 69 (2) 2016, 145-157 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2015.1131843 DBT AND SOCIAL WORK Cooper B, & Parsons J. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: A social work intervention?. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work , 21 (4), 83–93. https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol21iss4id264 Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present Traditional Owners and ongoing Custodians of the land on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Back in 2021, we talked to Ellen Beaumont about her experiences representing Australia as one of the Young Matildas, and her life afterwards. Back then we had just learned that Australia would be hosting the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Now that we know how well the Matildas have played in that tournament, we are bringing you this replay of that conversation as a bonus episode. When Ellen Beaumont was in the Young Matildas, she trained every minute that she wasn’t working, eating or sleeping. She put her education and career on hold, she missed family events and had no social life. All the while she knew that if she’d been a man she would have been well paid and sponsored, whereas Ellen was paid nothing to work this hard and represent her country. But for Ellen this was a life of privilege. So when her sporting career had come to its end, how did Ellen make the transition out of this privilege? How did she end up in social work? And which aspects of her former life help her now as a social worker? SHOWNOTES: “Young Matildas Selected” SBS: ‘The World Game”, 30/04/2014 Wikipedia summary of 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Crawford F, and McGowan L, Never Say Die: The Hundred Year Overnight Success of Australian Women’s Football, New South Press, 2019 Beaumont E, Chester P, and Rideout H, ‘Navigating Ethical Challenges in Social Media: Social Work Student and Practitioner Perspectives’, Australian Social Work , Vol 70, 2017 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0312407X.2016.1274416?journalCode=rasw20& ‘You Can’t Ask That : Ex footballers, ABC iview 05/05/2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The AASW respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and on-going custodians of the lands on which this podcast was recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Jane Sullivan OAM’s career has spanned paid and unpaid work, community services and the health system, social work and psychology, church organisations and the public sector. As she looks back over her career, it is her conversations with one group of people that stay with her. These were the people who wanted to make the decision that no-one wants to have to make. Jane Sullivan’s OAM Citation https://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/20230126%20-%20Media%20notes%20-%20OAM%20%28S-Z%29.pdf Jane’s resource for parents of children with life limiting conditions: Caring decisions: A Handbook for parents facing end-of-life decisions for their child , The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne https://www.rch.org.au/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/caringdecisions/130890%20Caring%20Decisions%20book_v1.pdf Articles: After an end-of-life decision: Parents’ reflections on living with an end-of-life decision for their child Jane E Sullivan Lynn H Gillam, Paul T Monagle Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health / Vol 56, Issue 7, pp 1060-1065 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpc.14816 Ethics at the end of life: who should make decisions about treatment limitation for young children with life threatening or life limiting conditions ? Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health / Vol 57, Issue 9, pp 594-598 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1440-1754.2011.02177.x See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Professor Tom Calma AO is one of Australia’s most respected human rights and social justice campaigners. He is Senior Australian of the Year 2023, and he is a social work graduate. Prof Calma AO is a- Kungarakan Elder and has worked for more than 45 years at local, community, state and international levels championing the rights, responsibilities and welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He co-led the co-design of a Voice to Parliament initiative. His call for Australia to address the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples was the catalyst for the Close the Gap Campaign. He was instrumental in establishing the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples; has led the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program; and has co-chaired Reconciliation Australia for over a decade. For NAIDOC Week in early July 2023, the AASW invited Prof Calma AO to present a Webinar for our members about the approaching Referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Australian Constitution and to enable them to advise Parliament and the government, through a Voice to Parliament. The Webinar was facilitated by Linda Ford, a Director of the AASW PROFILES PROFESSOR TOM CALMA AO https://australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/professor-tom-calma-ao LINDA FORD https://www.aasw.asn.au/about-aasw/board-of-directors/ MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE INFORMATION ABOUT THE REFERENDUM: ‘Referendums. It’s been a while’, Australian Electoral Commission: https://www.aec.gov.au/referendums/ Information about the Voice: https://voice.gov.au/ The Uluru Statement from the Heart: https://ulurustatement.org/ YES23 Community Based Campaign: https://yes23.com.au/ Allies for Uluru: https://alliesforuluru.antar.org.au/ Victorian Women’s Trust Resources: https://www.vwt.org.au/watch-together-yes-how-we-can-work-together-to-enshrine-a-first-nations-voice-in-our-national-constitution/ Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present Traditional Owners and ongoing Custodians of the land on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Michelle Moriarty has won an award for establishing groups for widowed people in rural Australia to support each other. But Michelle is not going to stop there, because she would like us all to be able to support young people who have been widowed. Reflecting on her own experience, Michelle realised that the reason she didn’t receive the help she needed was not that people didn’t want to help. It was a language problem. Michelle wants us all to be fluent in talking about grief. Michelle’s award: https://agrifutures.com.au/news/grief-advocate-takes-home-top-honour-2023-wa-agrifutures-rural-womens-award-winner-announced / https://agrifutures.com.au/opportunities/rural-womens-award/ The themes in this episode are also discussed in other episodes: Women ‘s contribution to rural Australia is discussed by Prof Margaret Alston OAM: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0dtb0G1LB1QBfkku1LkrxH?si=33b7a82101ea43e4 Bereavement is discussed by Julie Kulikoski OAM: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ZigGWtr0sk9zk19vDVQBP?si=03167b20491d4d8e Other Resources Any ordinary Day : Leigh Sales, Penguin Books Till Death Do Us Part: Fenella Souter, The Age Good Weekend, 20/05/23 Online version; https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/it-takes-two-years-to-rewire-the-brain-remaking-life-as-a-widow-20230405-p5cyfr.html?collection=p5cyg3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The AASW respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and on-going custodians of the land on which this podcast was recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and families, and to Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

When a technology company invited a social worker to join their digital literacy project, it was because they hoped her social work skills would be “nice-to-have” additions to their “need-to-have” skills for teaching people how to use their digital devices. But Anna Morgan had already been contemplating digital inclusion for a long time. Anna brought her social work mindset to the project, called on her community development experience and aimed for social inclusion. Mentioned in this episode: InfoXchange: Connected Communities: https://www.infoxchange.org/au/community-programs/connected-communities Definition of ‘Digital Inclusion’ from the Center for Digital Equity: https://thecenterfordigitalequity.org/digital-inclusion-and-digital-equity/ Asset Based Community Development: https://www.jeder.com.au/what-we-offer/asset-based-community-development-participatory-community-building/ Human Centred Design: https://www.vic.gov.au/introduction-human-centred-design Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present Traditional Owners and ongoing Custodians of the land on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Harm reduction is an approach to drug policy which promotes health, dignity and rights for everyone, regardless of which drugs they happen to be using. Although it is part of Australia’s National Drug Strategy, the principles of Harm Reduction aren’t always obvious to those of us in the service system. Chloe Span and the other members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy are working on changing that. LINKS Students for Sensible Drug Policy https://www.ssdp.org.au Harm Reduction: “Harm reduction is grounded in justice and human rights. It focusses on positive change and on working with people without judgement, co-ercion, discrimination, or requiring that people stop using drugs as a condition of support.” - Harm Reduction International: https://hri.global/ Australia’s National Drug Strategy: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-drug-strategy-2017-2026 Bob Hawke’s endorsement of his daughter: https://www.facebook.com/news.com.au/videos/bob-hawke-tears-up-talking-about-his-daughter/1945347788910102/ Johann Hari: Chasing the Scream, Bloomsbury, UK, 2019 https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781526608369/9781526608369 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

AJ Williams-Tchen provides Mental Health First Aid training to groups and organisations; and cultural awareness training to health professionals. Throughout all this work, AJ makes sure participants spend time listening to each other’s stories. AJ believes in the power of storytelling as our most powerful tool to drive social change. He practices this himself and describes his experience as a member of the Stolen Generation. When you hear his story, you realise that, in AJ’s words: “History is so recent”. Note: This episode was prepared before the announcement of the details of the Australian referendum about a First Nations Voice to Parliament. You can read more about the background to this referendum here: https://ulurustatement.org/ LINKS 26 January is a day to reflect on our nation’s true history: Watch AJ Williams-Tchen describe what January 26 means to him: https://www.aasw.asn.au/social-policy-advocacy/reconciliation AASW 2004 statement of apology to the Stolen Generation: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/618 Mental Health First Aid: https://mhfa.com.au/ Girrraway Gangi consultancy: https://www.girrawayganyi.com.au/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The AASW respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and on-going custodians of the land on which this podcast was recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and families, and to Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

Social workers draw on knowledge, skills and experiences from their professional and personal lives in all sorts of ways, to bring about changes they want to see in their world. While some of us choose to specialise in a particular field of social work practice, others take on roles in leadership, management or governance. Knowing the importance of good plan, Cindy Smith has been able to do all these things; because her plans combine her love of learning, her dedication to excellence and her values. LINKS Cindy Smith biography on the AASW webpage: https://www.aasw.asn.au/about-aasw/key-staff ORGANISATIONS Australasian College of Health Services Management: https://www.achsm.org.au/ Australian Institute of Company Directors: https://www.aicd.com.au/ Chief Executive Women: https://cew.org.au / SOCIAL WORK, LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE: Defining Social Work Leadership: a theoretical and conceptual review and analysis: Colby Peters ,Journal of Social Work Practice, Vol 32, pp31-44, 2017 Available through Tandfonline: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02650533.2017.1300877 The Emerging Significance of Values Based Leadership: A Literature Review: M.K. Copeland, St John Fisher University, 2014 Available through the university: https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/business_facpub/5/ THE AICD have published a set of Not-for-Profit Governance Principles : https://www.aicd.com.au/tools-and-resources/not-for-profit-governance-principles.html See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

When Anne-Maree Newbold OAM commenced her career, the residents of the large stand-alone psychiatric hospital in which she worked slept in dormitories with a shared clothing cupboard. Since then Anne-Maree’s career has been dedicated to reforming the way people experience our mental health and disability systems. Combining her experiences as a carer and her dedication to human rights, she tells us how we can be allies of the people who use our services, in their advocacy for change. LINKS AASW symposium: Mental health, Social Work and Contemporary Practice https://aasw.eventsair.com/the-aasw-mental-health-symposium-2022/registration Independent Mental Health Advocacy; https://www.imha.vic.gov.au/ North West Mental Health Services; https://www.nwmh.org.au/ Anne-Maree’s resources on rights: https://www.nwmh.org.au/about/policies-publications/your-rights-responsibilities See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

For Mark Silver, improving the mental health of older people starts when we all respect their story of their lives. He has pioneered intergenerational programs which bring people together across the generations to share stories and build that respect. When it comes to Mark’s own story, it’s in the badges on his cap. Further Information about Mark and his work (including portrait with cap): Social Work Focus , November 2021 https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13650 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-silver-66609524/ Swinburne Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/centres-groups-clinics/wellbeing-clinic/ Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice https://aiip.net.au/ Intergenerational Practice on Free-to-air Television Old People’s Home for 4 year olds https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-4-year-olds Old people’s Home for Teenagers https://iview.abc.net.au/show/old-people-s-home-for-teenagers Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

This episode follows from our previous episode with Rosalie Pockett AM. Like Rosalie, Kim Hobbs didn’t intend to make her career in hospital social work, but has ended up doing exactly that. Kim is the other half of the productive partnership between a hospital and university researching inequity in healthcare, and Kim agrees about how powerful these partnerships are in overturning inequality. She has observed that the ground-breaking research happens when social workers are the researchers. Further Information about Kim Hobbs https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kim-Hobbs https://www.oswanz.com/kim-hobbs/ Special Issue Australian Social Work Social Work and Cancer. Editorial by Rosalie Pockett and Kim Hobbs Free Access https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0312407X.2021.1988664?src= AASW Members: Australian Social Work Special Issue Social Work and Cancer Volume 75, Issue 2, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rasw20/current Prof Irwin Epstein on Clinical Data Mining: https://www.routledge.com/Clinical-Data-Mining-in-Practice-Based-Research-Social-Work-in-Hospital/Epstein-Blumenfield/p/book/9780789017093 Acknowledgement of Traditional Owners The Australian Association of Social Workers respectfully acknowledges the past and present traditional owners and ongoing custodians of the lands on which this podcast is being recorded. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, their ancestors and their families, and to the Elders of other communities who may be listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…