Critical Conversations for Social Work

Disclaimer: This episode contains mentions of substances, sexual assault and sexual violence, and the mention of death of a young person. Please listen at your own discretion.

In this, our final episode of the series, crew members Sia and Jean unpack the previous episode with Brooke and Chen Li about creative practice in the AOD space. Sia shares valuable insights into social policy directions in AOD, with a particular focus on harm reduction and drug diversion. The conversation touches on theories, a range of approaches and the importance of cultural safety and abolitionist practices to support a shift in perception of AOD practice and the criminalisation of people who use substances. In addition, the role of peer workers highlighting the importance of lived and living experience practitioners and the decriminalisation of the AOD practice space. Sia and Jean discuss the value of transparent and informative conversations with young people about drug and alcohol use. The pair share reflexively some intimate and colourful stories that have shaped their relationship with drug and alcohol use and their practice.

Transcript:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n-VCyV7F5_teof_F59WiNEWQB14tl-nT/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103726718570283534995&rtpof=true&sd=true

Queensland drug reform initiatives 

Two major drug reform initiatives announced (shorthandstories.com)

Abolitionist social work 

Abolitionist Social Work | Encyclopedia of Social Work (oxfordre.com)

“Achieving Balance” – Queensland Health Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2022 – 2027

https://6232990.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6232990/Achieving%20balance%20The%20Queensland%20Drug%20and%20Alcohol%20Plan%202022-2027.pdf

Harm Reduction Strategies

https://adf.org.au/reducing-risk/staying-safe-events/harm-reduction-strategies/

The National Drug Strategy 2017 – 2026

https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-drug-strategy-2017-2026

Definition of Therapeutic Jurisprudence:

The Concept of Therapeutic Jurisprudence - Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration - Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration (aija.org.au)

Keywords: #alcoholandotherdrugs #socialpolicy #drugdiversion #culturalsafety #abolitionistpractices #reflexivity #criticalreflection #peerworkers #livedandliving experience #colourfulstories

Music by Boe Toweh

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Disclaimer: This episode contains mentions of drugs and other substances, and the mention of death of a young person. Please listen at your own discretion. Your mental health matters.

Note: The drug diversion program starts in 2024 when Brooke mentioned "next year" as we recorded this episode at the end of 2023

Transcript:

References/Resources:

“Achieving Balance” – Queensland Health Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2022 – 2027 

https://6232990.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/6232990/Achieving%20balance%20The%20Queensland%20Drug%20and%20Alcohol%20Plan%202022-2027.pdf

The National Drug Strategy 2017 – 2026 https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-drug-strategy-2017-2026

Harm Reduction Strategies https://adf.org.au/reducing-risk/staying-safe-events/harm-reduction-strategies/

Glossary of terms -

https://adf.org.au/resources/did-glossary/

Music by Boe Toweh

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Disclaimer: This episode discusses people’s perspectives of their lived experiences with cancer. This is a sensitive topic, please listen at your discretion. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z3UqU6KPU3rt5-u6kfpMeS7JtDSt05ap/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100719681595597138502&rtpof=true&sd=true

In this episode, Jean chats with Ari to further unpack creative practice in supporting people living with cancer. At its heart, this episode is a discussion grounded in empathy and understanding, focusing on key concepts such as identity, social discourse, connection, and courage. Ari and Jean explore and unpack the concept of resilience, outlining its value and limitations. Ari discusses the importance of identity and its relation to young people, touching on themes of social isolation and societal constructions. Jean and Ari both discuss body image and appearance, with an eye opening discussion that conceptualises the way society constructs people living with cancer, unpacking assumptions and presumptions, while linking this to societal discourses and the overarching concept of how society views young people. Further, Jean and Ari discuss the importance of advocacy in this space, not just for young people and their families, but for the program itself; recognising the importance of lived experience sharing to benefit this space and place a person-led lens on the advocacy itself, while also raising important awareness for creative practice. 

Keywords: Creative practice, empathy, advocacy, living with cancer, lived experience, young people, person-led, social isolation, resilience, social discourse, identity

Music by Boe Toweh

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Disclaimer: This episode discusses people’s perspectives of their lived experiences with cancer. This is a sensitive topic, please listen at your discretion. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p3PDg14mvtkZZ--YYP40lK9n2UpsXUmX/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100719681595597138502&rtpof=true&sd=true

In this episode, Aliona and Sally, two passionate social work students and cancer survivors, enlighten our listeners on how young people (18-25) living with cancer experience creative advocacy. Both Aliona and Sally speak from their lived experience, highlighting social workers' vital role for people living with cancer, through group advocacy and individual supports. They recognise social workers as an essential support system and a shoulder to cry on during the harsh and painful treatments. This came at a time when they were formulating their identities and discovering themselves. Sally gives an example of a Virtual Reality experience run by the Chimera Foundation, which allowed them to escape the hospital environment without breaking ‘hospital protocol’ and even allowed Aliona and her brother to 'return' to their home country during the Covid pandemic.

References/Resources

Music by Boe Toweh

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Disclaimer: This episode will contain mentions of mental health and trauma, suicide and suicidal ideation, and institutional abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, Jean and Moira talk about men’s mental health, toxic masculinity, and the challenges within the NDIS scheme. Moira shares her perspectives on how societal expectations oppress men and how these contribute to issues like violence towards women, high rates of suicidal risk, systemic challenges for young people and people with disability. Jean and Moira also touch on the gaps in accessing the NDIS and the challenges faced by individuals navigating the system. They advocate for a more comprehensive, compassionate, and understanding approach to mental health practice on an individual and systemic level.

Transcript:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jVKp2QPMn_dPPXhJMrQDK5gwUF3IsbcEYFf1aGcXpj8/edit?usp=sharing

References/Resources:

Toxic masculinity definition and impact: https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/what-toxic-masculinity-and-how-it-impacts-mental

Cause of death Australia 2022: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release#intentional-self-harm-deaths-suicide-in-australia

NDIS: https://www.ndis.gov.au/

Non-deliberative practices:
https://fass.nus.edu.sg/nai/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/06/Day-3.pdf

Keywords: men’s mental health, NDIS, toxic masculinity, hegemonic masculinity, systemic oppression, lived experience, non-deliberative interventions, creative and critical practice, feminism, self-care

Music by Boe Toweh

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In this episode, our crew member Tilly engages in an insightful conversation with Simon, a private practitioner in the NDIS and mental health space and the founder of Mindfulness Men. Simon calls himself a lived experience therapist and generously shares his journey of navigating mental health challenges. Tilly and Simon talk about how society constructions of masculinity impact men’s mental health. Simon and Tilly have a robust conversation about the struggles of working with the NDIS and work cover systems for funding support. They also discuss approaches to self-care, supervision, and the importance of critical reflection when working in private practice. Simon shares insights into his creative approach to work with men which involves “mindfulness on the move” among other activities, aiming to destigmatize the therapy process and create a comfortable space for men to talk about their mental health issues. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JKCimh0HLCEszuf7hmd2SRMFGBPXUHuQ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=100719681595597138502&rtpof=true&sd=true

Mindful Men: Mindful Men - Mindful Men AUS (mindful-men.com.au)

NDIS: https://www.ndis.gov.au/

Work cover Queensland: https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/about/who-we-are/workcover-queensland

Mindfulness definition: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/basics/mindfulness 

Hegemonic masculinity definition: https://helpfulprofessor.com/hegemonic-masculinity-examples/

Keywords: 

#socialwork #Men'sMentalHealth #MentalHealth #NDIS #LivedExperiencepractitioner #PrivatePractice #creativeapproaches #SelfCare #ProfessionalDevelopment #SupportWorker #DisabilitySupport #CommunityEngagement #hegemonicmasculinity #burnout #MentalHealthAdvocacy

Music by Boe Toweh

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In this special feature follow-up episode, our crew member Nate speaks with Tamara and Mai from Students Against Placement Poverty (SAPP) Queensland branch. They discuss the growing concern and movement forward in the efforts to secure paid placement for students in social work and human service degrees and other helping professions. The activist group members speak about the vision and goals of SAPP to support placement students who are struggling. Mai and Tamara outline the key challenges of completing the unpaid placement, disrupting the notion of 1000 hours of placement as the gold standard and the personal, social, and political implications of current placement directives. Both share their own placement experience and encourage Nate to share his experience as an international student. They acknowledge their lived and living experience as similar to students’ stories in the research conducted by Christine Morley and associates. The SAPP members provide insights about the work being done to address the concerns including the role played by the University Accord and the role that might be played by the AASW to enact change. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E7gauJG1mMRFOaiHtoX1SL8P0599KkB3/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103726718570283534995&rtpof=true&sd=true

Resources:

SAPP Instagram: https://instagram.com/SAPPQLD

          Facebook:  https://facebook.com/SAPPQLD

Why students need to be paid for work placements:

https://theconversation.com/we-can-no-longer-justify-unpaid-labour-why-uni-students-need-to-be-paid-for-work-placements-203421

Three ways to fix student work placements:

https://theconversation.com/it-is-impossible-for-me-to-be-unpaid-3-ways-to-fix-student-work-placements-213151

Universities Accord interim report: https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord

Interview with QLD Students Against Placement Poverty: https://www.qutglass.com/increase-the-volume-an-interview-with-qld-students-against-placement-poverty/

An open letter from SAPP:

https://www.qutglass.com/open-letter-from-sapp/

Change harmful placement models:

https://www.tinyurl.com/SAPPQLD

Keywords: SAPP, students against placement poverty, unpaid placement, 1000 hours, neoliberalism, AASW, University Accord, students stories, international student placements, social justice, inequality, system theory, poststructuralism, feminist theory, call to action

Music By Boe Towah

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Disclaimer: This episode discusses difficult topics related to mental health and trauma, suicidal ideation, and institutional abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ccDn1Wfc9x6bBDZj-Z3enc3GpbkbGXfH/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103726718570283534995&rtpof=true&sd=true

Disclaimer: This episode discusses difficult topics related to domestic and family violence, rape and sexual assault, mental health and trauma. Listener discretion is advised.

Jean and special guest, Abby unpack some of the concepts, practices and discourses explored in the episode with Jules and Ari. They explore the role of patriarchy in the perpetuation of policing and surveillance of victims/survivors of gendered violence. Abby generously shares her own lived and living experience of domestic and family violence, and similar experiences to Jules’ in the context of mental health interventions. They discuss the importance of feminist theory to combat the prevalence of patriarchy when responding to gendered violence in the mental health system. Abby brings insights to the conversation about the ways we can foster hope, empowerment, and build a social conscience with education and advocacy. 

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rynzpPYJGzOiDlVs_pSn8nclkh8EdLFTJ55NiCQOh_I/edit?usp=sharing

References/Resources:

Foucault’s governmentality: https://www.criticallegalthinking.com/2014/12/02/governmentality-notes-thought-michel-foucault/ 

Feminism to end gendered violence: https://www.alignplatform.org/resource/report-feminist-activism-end-gbv-public-sphere

Definition of patriarchy: https://medicamondiale.org/en/service/glossary/patriarchy

Definition of Intersectionality: https://www.intersectionaljustice.org/what-is-intersectionality 

Keywords: domestic and family violence, gendered violence, victims and survivors, feminist theory, Foucault, trauma informed care, gaslighting, coercive control, intersectionality, patriarchy, mental health, surveillance, angel shot, advocacy and activism

Music by Boe Towah

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Disclaimer: This episode discusses difficult topics related to domestic and family violence, mental health, rape and sexual assault, and suicidal ideation. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode, podcast crew member Aarrah speaks with Jules Thompson, founder of Broken Ballerina and lived experience worker and survivor of domestic violence. Jules speaks passionately, recognising the entrenched flaws of Australia’s mental health system in her own experience and her work supporting victim/survivors of domestic violence. Using her foundation ‘Broken Ballerina inc.’ Jules and her husband, Pete, fill in the gaps often overlooked in the domestic and family violence (DFV) sector, with a strong grassroots and advocacy approach. Jules recognises the injustices and provides for the unique individual needs of victim/survivors of DFV, rather than a box to be ‘ticked & flicked’. Jules highlights the importance of collaboration to build community support as part of her role as a social change agent.

Jules Thompson. (2022) Broken Ballerina. Savvy Scripts Publishing.

Broken Ballerina: https://brokenballerina-inc.com.au/ 

Coercive control definition: https://www.raq.org.au/blog/what-coercive-control

Gaslighting definition: https://www.raq.org.au/blog/what-gaslighting

Advocacy definition: https://www.rightsinaction.org/home/what-is-advocacy/ 

Community organising definiton: https://www.corganisers.org.uk/what-is-community-organising/intro-about-community-organising/ 

Angel shot definiton: https://parade.com/living/angel-shot 

If you or someone you know needs support, you can contact: 

Advocacy, domestic violence, domestic and family violence, Broken Ballerina, mental health, victim/survivor, community, collaboration, lived experience worker, grassroots practice

Music by Boe Toweh

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