Social Work Radio

Duration Neglect: aka “How can you not see this?”

This week, Vince and Cara unpack the idea of duration neglect - the psychological blind spot that helps explain why social workers can see years of cumulative harm in a chronology while families experience life crisis-by-crisis and believe they are coping. This episode explores the gap between professional “montage” thinking and lived real-time experience, the way chronic low-level harm becomes normalised, and why neglect and long-term adversity are so often minimised in both practice and systems

From practical implications for assessments and chronologies to a shift in tone from confrontation to curiosity, this is a thoughtful, reflective conversation about what it really means to ask: how can you not see this?

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

Jeffrey Epstein isn't the whole story

In this episode of Social Work Radio, Vince and Cara unpack why Jeffrey Epstein isn’t the whole story. Moving beyond the fixation on famous names, they explore the wider networks of abuse, power and institutional failure that social workers recognise all too well. From the way harm is framed differently in wealthy circles and deprived communities, to how systems weigh risk when influence is involved, this conversation challenges listeners to look past spectacle and ask harder questions about safeguarding, accountabilit,y and whose voices get centred.

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

Does it really take a village to raise a child?

Does it really take a village to raise a child, or is that a phrase we repeat without ever taking seriously?

In this episode of Social Work Radio, Vince and Cara explore what the evidence says about how place, neighbourhood, and environment shape children’s lives, often as powerfully as parenting itself. Drawing on research and frontline experience, they reflect on how social work assessments can narrow responsibility onto parents, while wider factors like poverty, housing, and unsafe communities fade into the background.

The conversation asks what it would mean to genuinely take environment seriously in practice, and how social workers can show greater empathy for families parenting in conditions most of us would not accept for our own children.

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

Is it lonely at the top for social work managers?

In this episode, Vince and Cara turn their attention to a question many social workers quietly wrestle with: is it lonely at the top? Drawing on lived experience from both sides of the desk, they explore how poor management harms staff, the emotional weight and isolation that can come with leadership roles, and why moving into management is not - and should not be - the default marker of success in social work. The conversation ranges from micromanagement and burnout to power, safety, and what social workers can reasonably demand from those leading them, offering a thoughtful and honest look at a part of the profession that is often misunderstood.

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

The Maria Coto bill and what it means for social worker safety

In this week’s episode of Social Work Radio, out hosts Vince and Cara turn their attention to the Maria Coto bill and what it could mean for social worker safety. Reflecting on the murder of child protective services worker Maria Coto in New York in 2024, the conversation explores why lawmakers are pushing for new criminal offences for assaults and threats against social workers, whether tougher laws genuinely make practitioners safer, or whether they mainly offer reassurance after tragedy. Drawing on UK and international perspectives, Cara and Vince unpack the uncomfortable tension between legal protections, practical safety measures, and the realities of frontline work, from lone-working systems to staffing pressures and organisational culture.

Alongside the serious discussion, listeners should stay tuned for a lighter moment too - Cara has some wonderful news to share with Vince...

Created by  social workers, for social workers.

Join the conversation every Friday morning.

social work preview of 2026

In this episode of Social Work Radio, Vince and Cara look ahead to what 2026 may hold for social work. Drawing on their experience from the past year, they explore the big themes likely to shape practice in the months ahead - from staffing pressures, cost of living impacts, and inspection changes, to political decisions, regulation, and the narratives surrounding the profession. Together, they reflect on how these forces may show up in everyday practice and what social workers are already beginning to feel on the ground.

The conversation also turns to technology, AI, and how digital tools may realistically affect the job in 2026, balancing the promise of time-saving support against concerns about control and surveillance. Cara and Vince share their personal hopes, fears, and boundaries for the year ahead, before offering a direct message to listeners as they step into 2026.

A social work review of 2025

In this end-of-year episode of Social Work Radio, Vince and Cara look back on the stories that defined social work across 2025, reflecting on the moments that sparked debate, concern and, at times, collective reflection within the profession. From viral social media controversies and high-profile safeguarding cases to regulatory decisions, workforce pressures, and questions of public trust, the episode revisits the headlines that shaped conversations month-by-month.

Create by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

Welcome to the Social Work Radio Christmas party!

In this festive end-of-year episode, our hosts Vince and Cara invite listeners to the Social Work Radio Christmas party - a warm, reflective, and gently playful conversation designed especially for a profession that rarely gets to switch off. From catching up on the week and sharing listener messages, to unpacking the social work themes hidden inside classic Christmas films, the pair explore resilience, burnout, and the quiet work of holding things together. They reflect on their most wholesome moments of 2025, talk honestly about boundaries and exhaustion at Christmas, and close with heartfelt messages to social workers everywhere - especially those on duty, on call, or running on empty - reminding them that being “enough” doesn’t mean fixing everything, and that rest, kindness, and community matter too.

Merry Christmas social workers!

 

 

 

The killing of hospital social worker Alberto Rangel

A sensitive and reflective episode in which Cara and Vince discuss the killing of hospital social worker Alberto Rangel in San Francisco last week, and the questions it has prompted across the profession about safety at work. Drawing on reporting, tributes from colleagues, and their own frontline experience, they explore why many practitioners have said: “this could have been any one of us” and look at the wider conversation now taking place about protecting social workers.

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

Teens turning to TikTok therapy

Teens are turning to TikTok for therapy - and many trust what they find there more than the services meant to support them. In this week’s episode, Vince and Cara dive into the rise of TikTok-driven self-diagnosis, from trauma and ADHD to “narcissistic parents,” and explore why the For You Page can feel more responsive, more comforting, and more human than CAMHS.

They unpack the risks, the misinformation, and what practitioners can do in practice - not by fighting the algorithm, but by working alongside it. A lively, honest conversation about trust, digital life, and what young people are really telling us.

 

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.