10a Closure

This is our final podcast about the social work journey. We talk about endings and how we can bring an encounter to a harmonious close. What story about social work will we leave people with?

9a Crisis social work

In this podcast we discuss how social work helps when someone is experiencing a crisis. We look at crisis intervention theory and consider the practice implications of working alongside people during these moments of change.

8b History

In this podcast, we continue to look at other disciplines and consider what social workers can learn from historians. We discuss approaches, skills and tools that can help social work. We also introduce a new Listener’s Request section where we discuss a question from you.

8a Reviews

This podcast continues our discussion of the social work journey. We look at reviews, and consider how we can undertake them purposefully and skilfully.

7b Human rights

Social work is a human rights profession. The Universal Declaration says that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ In this podcast we consider what it means to promote full and equal humanity in our work.

7a Safeguarding

In this podcast we continue to look at the social work journey and discuss how safeguarding fits into social work practice. We focus on the philosophy behind safeguarding – what are we trying to achieve and why – and consider how we can do this well.

6c Working conditions

In this additional podcast, we highlight recent UK research about social workers’ working conditions. The social work context needs to change – we discuss what social workers need in order to help others, and how we can act to improve things.

6b Markets

In this podcast we discuss how social care differs from other markets and what this means for social work. We explore issues around accessing and delivering quality, sustainable and ethical support for people.

6a Funding

This podcast continues our discussion of social work involvement with the tricky topic of funding. In a context of finite resources and cuts, we discuss how social workers make ethical judgements and advocate for individual and citizen rights.

5b The good life

In this podcast we discuss how social work helps people to build the good life. We look at what this means and why it matters. We consider how the UN global development goals help us to build a good life globally as part of a world-wide profession.

5a Planning

This podcast explores how good planning in social work can provide a belief in a different future and a map to get there. We look at the practicalities and potential of planning to improve lives.

3b Language

In this podcast, we discuss the importance of language in social work. We consider how social workers communicate, the meaning of language, and how it can give or take away power.

3a Assessment

As part of our exploration of the social work journey, we discuss the ethics and practice of assessment. We consider how to gather information openly and purposefully in order to understand someone’s story.

2b Counselling

Continuing our exploration of what we can learn from different disciplines, we discuss how counselling skills enhance social work. We look at how we use our humanity to relate to others and how we provide containment so people can explore dilemmas.

2a Building a relationship

In this podcast, we continue the social work journey by considering how to build a relationship. We look at relationship-based social work, and at the theories and evidence that underpin this. We draw on Relationship-Based Social Work, Second Edition (Edited by Gillian Ruch, Danielle Turney and Adrian Ward, 2018).

1b Biology and psychology

In this episode, our first ‘b’ podcast for series 3, we start our exploration of what we can learn from different disciplines. We consider what we can learn from biology and psychology: how we can slow down; be reflexive; and understand why we and others are behaving as we are.

1a First contact

Welcome to the first podcast for Series 3. In our ‘a’ podcasts this series we are looking at the social work journey, starting here with first contact. We discuss how we can overcome barriers to make our first encounter with someone helpful and hopeful.