Social Work Spotlight

In this episode I speak with Seena, an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker based in Brisbane who has worked in the human services sector for over 15 years. Seena is a first-generation Gujarati woman born and raised in England but now living in Australia, and she brings an appreciation of how culture, identity, relationships, and lived experience shape people’s stories. Her practice spans mental health, trauma, domestic and family violence, relationships, parenting, and men’s behaviour change. Grounded in dignity, cultural humility, and trauma-informed practice, Seena is passionate about walking alongside people with both compassion and accountability and creating environments where people feel heard, respected, and empowered as the experts of their own lives.

Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode:
‘Invitations to Responsibility’ by Alan Jenkins - https://archive.org/details/invitationstores00jenk

Our Watch - https://www.ourwatch.org.au/

No To Violence - https://ntv.org.au/about-us/

ANROWS (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety) - https://www.anrows.org.au/

Institute of Non-Violence - https://ionv.com.au/

Safe & Together Institute - https://safeandtogetherinstitute.com/

Blue Knot Foundation - https://blueknot.org.au/

Emerging Minds - https://emergingminds.com.au/

Suggested reading:
Judith Herman: Trauma and Recovery (1992)

Bessel Van der Kolk: The Body Keeps the Score (2014)

Janina Fisher: Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors (2017)

Peter Levine: Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma (1997)

Alan Jenkins (1990): Invitations to Responsibility: The Therapeutic Engagement of Men who are Violent and Abusive (https://archive.org/details/invitationstores00jenk) 

Evan Stark (2023): Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. 

Michael Flood (2018): Engaging Men and Boys in Violence Prevention.

Michael Flood (2025): Understanding Men's Lives: Pain, Privilege, Difference

This episode's transcript can be viewed here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lvPGFrLhwztTY7eze3mjo_fRIqn84VUtkLIySfp01PY/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.

In this episode I speak with Dainora, a social worker from Lithuania, working as a Supported Decision-Making Specialist at the Agency for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and as a Marketing Manager at the Psychosocial Activity Centre “Nauja pradžia”, while also pursuing a master’s degree. Her work in supported decision-making focuses on empowering people with disabilities to make their own decisions, strengthen their independence, and have their voices heard. 

Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode:
Agency for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ANTA) - https://anta.lrv.lt/lt/

Psychosocial Activity Center “Nauja Pradžia (New Start)” - https://www.facebook.com/p/Nauja-prad%C5%BEia-psichosocialin%C4%97s-veiklos-centras-61560334597170/

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 12 (Equal recognition before the law) - https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/article-12-equal-recognition-before-the-law.html

European Disability Forum - https://www.edf-feph.org/

“My Rights - My Voice” board game - https://pertvarka.lt/naujas-budas-kalbeti-apie-teises-ir-pasirinkimus-d-jurgaitytes-sukurtas-zaidimas-mano-teises-mano-balsas/

This episode's transcript can be viewed here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W-5dq8jG8fYiZ5I8U2CkmOoIvb7Odg-yhGLIQyP13t4/edit?usp=sharing

In this episode I speak with Dr Eymen Ekmen, an academic in Türkiye who completed his PhD in 2026, and whose research primarily focuses on migration, refugee studies, and Syrian refugees in Türkiye. Eymen places great emphasis on working with diverse cultures and conducting fieldwork in participants' native languages, and he himself speaks Arabic, English, Turkish, and Serbo-Croatian.

Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode:
Istanbul Arel University’s Social Work Department - https://arel.edu.tr/en/faculty-of-health-sciences-social-work/

Eymen’s Google Scholar page - https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_4wrMQoAAAAJ&hl=fr

This episode's transcript can be viewed here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GtU6RDI94YmQ81tKkV7NNfA5DXh5LVT8gCi-bK9n5R0/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.

In this episode I speak with Vesna from North Macedonia, with more than 20 years of professional experience beginning with volunteering in civil society organisations supporting people at social risk, where she discovered her passion for this profession. Throughout her career, she has worked with different groups, currently focusing on early childhood care, while also actively involved in international projects, non-formal education, and professional training as a lecturer and educator. 

Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode:
The Streets Smart Model - https://streetsmarts.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/home/thestreetsmartsmodel/

Mellow Parenting program - https://www.mellowparenting.org/

eTwinning projects - https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/en/etwinning/projects

Erasmus+ program - https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/

“Life Story Work: A Practical Guide To Helping Children Understand Their Past” (the English book related to Vesna’s approach when writing her own book) -  https://dokumen.pub/life-story-work-a-practical-guide-to-helping-children-understand-their-past-9781905664023.html

Professor Ranko Rajovic’s work - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxbskgKBLFs

Nikola Tesla Learning Centre Learning System - https://ntclearning.com/

This episode's transcript can be viewed here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wY4d2-IBCVeDtIivj514o8IPI3l9VsOk_89hl-hH2TA/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.

In this episode I speak with Gülcan, a social worker from Türkiye, currently living in Serbia. Gülcan has worked in migration and refugee support, child protection, and emergency and crisis settings, with field experience in humanitarian responses during the COVID-19 period, the Syrian refugee crisis, and the 2023 earthquake response in Türkiye. She has also worked with vulnerable children and women living in camps and other protection settings in both Türkiye and Serbia.

Links to resources mentioned in this week’s episode:
Gülcan’s LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gülcan-güzel-171739196/

Sphere Standards training, especially for humanitarian and emergency response work - https://spherestandards.org/online-courses/

UNICEF’s online learning platform *Agora* (free and certified online courses, including training on child protection, migration, and emergency response) - https://agora.unicef.org/

European Solidarity Corps European Union humanitarian volunteering program - https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/young-people/volunteering-humanitarian-aid_en

“The Swimmers” film, based on the true story of two Syrian sisters and their journey from war and displacement to finding a safe life in Europe - https://youtu.be/ObN4krVV20Y?si=YU5bMInrUMMMie_j

This episode's transcript can be viewed here: 
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KjPSYnopk5ApjKDNYn2YvGi09NLnGlfy_eB2bVHpe_E/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks to Kevin Macleod of incompetech.com for our theme music.