💡 How confident do you feel responding when a client dissociates mid-session?

Dissociation is everywhere in our caseloads, yet so many practitioners feel unsure about what it actually is, how to assess for it, and how to safely respond in the room.

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast, Dr Jodie Park and Rose Mackey strip away the jargon fog to talk about the gaps between what we see and what we know. We map out the 4 levels of dissociation, dive into the neurobiology of "dissociative collapse" and look at why it's a brilliant survival response.

What you’ll learn:

• 🧠 How to use Dan Siegel’s Window of Tolerance to guide your session pacing.
• ❄️ 5 evidence-backed grounding strategies to use in a session.
• 🚸 How to differentiate trauma-related dissociation in children from normal developmental play or sensory shutdowns.
• 🤝 Why shifting from trauma-informed to trauma-and-violence-informed practice is the key to removing systemic shame for clients.

As always, your own nervous system matters! Tune in to learn how to cultivate conditions of safety so your clients can find their way back.

🎧 Listen now on your favourite podcast platform, and don't forget to download our ambiguous loss printables over at our website! 👉 relationalpracticeasocialworkpodcast.com.au

We would love to hear from you! Send practice stories, comments and feedback to relationalpractice01@gmail.com

Editing by Angus Pinkstone.

Music by Hannah Park.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions about self-harm (non-suicidal self-injury). We recognize this content may be distressing. Please prioritize your well-being while listening.

Discovering that a young person may be hurting themselves often triggers a level of fear and uncertainty in practitioners and caregivers that few other topics can match. Despite how common it is, self-harm remains a deeply misunderstood aspect of adolescent mental health. Far too often, the subject is buried under layers of social stigma and silence, or met with responses that, while well-intentioned, fail to provide the actual support a young person needs.

In this episode, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey "cut through" the misconceptions to provide a clear, evidence-based understanding of self-harm. Whether you are a parent, carer, teacher, welfare or social worker, this conversation is designed to equip you with the tools to recognize, respond to, and support a young person in pain.

We dive deep into:

• Defining the Intent: Why self-harm is increasingly recognized as a health issue independent of suicidal ideation.

• The "Why" Behind the Pain: Understanding self-harm as a way to cope with, express, or control emotional pain, or even as a form of self-punishment.

• Hidden Signs & Modern Variants: From the "visible" signs like clothing choices to less recognized forms like self-battery and digital self-harm (self-cyberbullying).

• The Power of First Response: Why reacting with calm, compassion, and curiosity, rather than shock or anger, is the most critical step in keeping the door of communication open.

Self-harm is a young person’s way of communicating they are in more pain than they know how to carry. Join us as we discuss how to help them find something better to put in its place.

Where to Find Support

Australia-Based Services (24/7)

• Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (For ages 5–25)

• Lifeline: 13 11 14

• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

• 13YARN: 13 92 76 (Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people)

• Immediate Danger: Call 000 or visit your local emergency department.

For Our International Listeners

If you are listening from outside of Australia, please know that support is available to you. We encourage you to reach out to your local emergency services or search for national mental health helplines in your country. Many regions offer 24/7 crisis support via phone or text. Seeking help from a mental health professional is the most effective way to address self-harm and find long-term relief.

Editing by Angus Pinkstone.

Music by Hannah Park.

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey go beyond the catch-all term of "stress" to explore the specific psychological injuries that social workers sustain on the front lines. We often feel that our exhaustion is a personal failure, but today we reframe it as a predictable biological and ethical response to a high-pressure system.

Drawing heavily on the work of Vikki Reynolds, we dismantle the "Just Stressed" myth and look at why burnout is often actually "Ethical Conflict", the pain of being forced to work against our own professional ethics.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Injury Spectrum: Distinguishing between Vicarious Trauma (a shift in your worldview), Burnout (systemic exhaustion), Compassion Fatigue (nervous system drain), and Spiritual Pain (moral injury).
• The "Zone of Fabulousness": How to stay connected to your clients without becoming enmeshed in their trauma or disconnected like a "bureaucratic robot".
• Boundaries as Physical Safety: Why saying "no" and choosing your meeting environment are high-level clinical tools that protect your nervous system.
• Radical Self-Compassion: Moving away from "performative" self-care (like bubble baths) toward "Ethical Resistance" and collective accountability.
• Justice-Doing: Finding small, subversive ways to honour client dignity within rigid systems to jumpstart your own resilience.

Whether you are feeling the "Sunday Scaries" or struggling with a sense of "Moral Injury," this episode is a call to reach out to your colleagues and start practicing collective care.

Show Notes & Resources

• Visit our website: relationalpracticeasocialworkpodcast.com.au
• Connect with us: Join our community on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Get in touch: Email your stories to Relationalpractice01@gmail.com.
• Featured Concepts:
  • Vikki Reynolds: "The Zone of Fabulousness" and "Justice-Doing".
  • Kristin Neff: The framework of Self-Compassion (Common Humanity vs. Isolation).
  • Polyvagal Theory: Understanding "Dorsal Vagal" shutdown and nervous system regulation.

Editing by Angus Pinkstone

Music by Hannah Park

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