The Portal Podcast: Linking Research and Practice for Social Work

In this episode, Sarah and Lesley speak with Dr Rick Bowler about his paper ‘Whiteness, Britishness and the Racist Reality of Brexit’ (read Rick’s paper here). Rick has retired since we recorded this interview, but at the time of the conversation Rick was working at the University of Sunderland as a Senior Lecturer. Rick has a background in a range of professional fields, including mental health, youth justice, substance misuse, youth work and community development.

Rick’s paper (and this podcast episode) focuses on the ongoing reality of British Racism and explores this within the context of Brexit. Rick challenges the racial frictions that are woven into the Brexit debate and offers insights into how to “trouble” and push back against a privileging social system of whiteness. This conversation is a must listen for social workers within which we talked to Rick about racism, the power of words and meaning, and the role of the critical practitioner as a social educator to retain an ethical commitment to anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice.

Click here to access the transcript for this episode.

Click here to view Rick’s other publications.

Click here to follow Rick on Twitter.

The music is called “Together We’re Stronger” by All Music Seven (All7 Studios) (you can listen to their music here). Production and editing by PaperGhosts.

The Portal Podcast is funded by the University of Sunderland.

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In this episode, Sarah and Lesley spoke with Sigrid Mairhofer about her research exploring social work with older people in rural and urban areas of Germany. We learned about how social work operates in Germany, as well as some of the challenges social workers face in supporting older people.

About our guest:

Sigrid Mairhofer is a Professor of Community and Organisational Development at the Munich University of Applied Sciences.

Click here to access the transcript for this episode.

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In this episode we spoke to Sally Nieman who has undertaken research to explore the role of social work in care homes. Sally spoke to us about the intersection of social work and care homes, how social workers support older people in these settings, and some of the challenges that social workers experience in these roles. Key learning and recommendations for social workers were also discussed.

About our guest:

Sally Nieman is a social worker in adult social care and a social work education lead. Sally, at the time of recording, was also finishing her PhD at the University of Suffolk.

Further Information:

You can find more information about Sally’s work by clicking on the following:

Shining a Light on Social Work with Older People in Care Homes

Revisioning social work with older people living in a care home: Promoting rights and reducing control.

Click here to access the transcript for this episode.

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In this episode, Sarah and Lesley spoke with Alisoun Milne about family carers and older people. We discussed ageing and mental health, the impact of caring, the need to challenge existing narratives around family carers, and much more besides.

About our guest:

Alisoun Milne is an Emeritus Professor in Social Gerontology and Social Work at the University of Kent. Before becoming an academic, Alisoun worked as a social worker and team manager in two local authorities in London for 7 years.

Further Information:

Within the podcast a number of publications were mentioned. Please see below for links to these and to find out more about Alisoun’s work on family caring.

Milne, A., & Larkin, M. (2023). Family Carers and Caring: What it’s all about. Emerald.

Milne, Alisoun (2020) Mental Health in Later Life: Taking a Life Course Approach. Policy Press, Bristol.

To view all of Alisoun Milne’s publications please visit this link: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/view/email/a=2Ej=2Emilne=40kent=2Eac=2Euk.html#group_book

Also mentioned was Lesley’s paper, “A Neoliberalist solution for a neoliberalist problem: The neoliberalist normalization of psycho-social support for parent-carers”.

Click here to access the transcript for this episode.

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In this second season of The Portal Podcast, we have a range of guests joining us to talk about domestic abuse. The nature of this topic means that we cover content that some listeners may find distressing. Lesley and I discuss this within the audio below.

Click here to access a transcript of this episode.

If you are affected by any of the issues discussed within this podcast series you can access help and support from a range of services available across the UK. These include:

• National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 24/7 service: 0808 2000 247
• Refuge: provides specialist services to survivors of domestic abuse
• Women’s Aid: domestic abuse support for women and children
• Men’s Advice Line: domestic abuse support helpline for men: 0808 8010327
• Rape Crisis: support after sexual violence
• NSPCC: helping to rebuild children’s lives and support families
• Galop: support for LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violence
• Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO): support for victims of forced marriage, ‘honour’-based abuse and FGM
• Southall Black Sisters: support for Black and minoritised women and children experiencing abuse
• Karma Nirvana: support for ‘honour’-based abuse and forced marriage: 0800 5999 247
• Forward: African women-led organisation working to end violence against women and girls
• Paladin: support for victims of stalking in England and Wales
• SignHealth: provide a specialist domestic abuse support service for Deaf adults and children
• Respect: working with domestic violence perpetrators, male victims and young people

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