Why does doing what you love sometimes leave you exhausted, stuck, or questioning your identity?

In this episode of Inside Social Work, I speak with Dr Bronwyn Milkins, psychologist and host of the Mental Work podcast, about why the dream job ideal doesn’t always lead to happiness. We explore how hustle culture, guilt and overidentification with our jobs contribute to burnout, and what it actually looks like to reclaim space outside work.

Whether you're a therapist, educator or any kind of helping professional, this episode is for anyone who’s ever felt like work became too much of their identity.

Key takeaways:

• Why the dream job ideal can create internal pressure
• What happens when you’re praised for over-functioning
• The role of guilt in keeping people stuck in burnout
• How boundaries and rest protect your wellbeing
• Why it’s hard to separate identity from profession
• What sustainable success could look like instead
• How to shift your values without losing your sense of purpose

Contact Dr Bronwyn Milkins here at mentalworkpodcast@gmail.com

Resources:

• Mental Work Podcast
• Inside Social Work
• The Therapy Hub
• Career Guide

If this episode hit close to home, share it with a friend or colleague who might be carrying the same weight.

Got something you'd like to hear on the podcast?

🎙️ Got a question or something on your mind? Send it through. You can write it or email a voice memo to contact@marievakakis.com.au, and it might be featured in a future episode of Inside Social Work.

Your curiosity could help shape a conversation that resonates with the wider community.

Want to be a guest? Submit a speaker request here

http://marievakakis.com.au/be-a-podcast-guest/

Got an anonymous question? Submit it here:

https://forms.gle/wg7Lk61xde9Lge976

Do you ever feel like you need to have all the answers in the first few sessions? Maybe you’ve wondered if your client is silently asking themselves, is this going to help?

In this episode of Inside Social Work, I chat with Dr Bronwyn Milkins from the Mental Work podcast about the pressures, pacing, and expectations that sit inside the first three sessions of therapy. We unpack what actually helps clients stay engaged and why slowing down can sometimes be the most helpful thing we do.

This conversation is honest, practical, and filled with reflections for early career therapists and anyone supporting people through the first steps of therapy.

• Why the first three sessions can feel like they carry extra pressure for both clients and therapists
• What actually helps people stay in therapy
• The power of making the therapy process visible
• Why clarity, structure, and customer service really matter
• How scripts and checklists can guide, not restrict, the work
• Why slowing down is sometimes the most effective thing we can do
• The importance of culture, lived experience, and meaningful engagement
• Practical ways to check in, offer choice, and build trust

If you enjoyed this episode, I’d love for you to share it with your colleagues or anyone supporting people in their early therapy sessions. You can also explore more resources and on-demand training via the website. Thanks for listening to Inside Social Work.

Contact Dr Bronwyn Milkins @ mentalworkpodcast@gmail.com

• On-Demand Training: Enhancing Clinical Outcomes in the First Three Sessions
• Mental Work Podcast

👉 Learn more about my on-demand course: Enhance Clinical Outcomes in the First Three Sessions: https://marievakakis.com.au/courses/enhancing-clinical-outcomes-in-the-first-three-sessions/

Got something you'd like to hear on the podcast?

🎙️ Got a question or something on your mind? Send it through. You can write it or email a voice memo to contact@marievakakis.com.au, and it might be featured in a future episode of Inside Social Work.

Your curiosity could help shape a conversation that resonates with the wider community.

Want to be a guest? Submit a speaker request here

http://marievakakis.com.au/be-a-podcast-guest/

Got an anonymous question? Submit it here:

https://forms.gle/wg7Lk61xde9Lge976

What if the therapist you were seeing just got it?

What if you didn’t have to explain your cultural background, your lived experience, or the reasons you approach life the way you do?

In this episode of Inside Social Work, I sat down with Tham Fuyana, Social Worker, Family Therapist and Educator, to talk about what it’s like navigating therapy as a BIPOC client.

BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and people/ person of colour

While I'm not a person of colour and can’t speak from lived experience, I shared reflections from my perspective as a therapist and acknowledged the limits of my own experience, while making space for this important conversation.

Tham shares powerful insights from their lived experience as a person of colour and as a therapist, reflecting on how this shapes their work and the way they connect with clients.

Tham talks about the experience of searching for a BIPOC therapist, the invisible barriers to accessing mental health care, and why representation and understanding matter in the therapy room. They reflect on what it means to be truly seen, and the challenges many people of colour face when navigating mental health services.

Key things discussed

• What it means to seek a BIPOC therapist and why it matters
• How intersectionality shapes the therapy experience
• Barriers to accessing mental health care for people of colour
• The emotional weight of having to always explain your story
• Why some people feel safer being vulnerable with someone who "gets it"
• How representation can impact trust and connection in therapy
• The complexity of navigating multiple identities in multicultural Australia
• Practical ways to find the right therapist for you

Resources

Therapy Hub: https://www.thetherapyhub.com.au

Got something you'd like to hear on the podcast?

🎙️ Got a question or something on your mind? Send it through. You can write it or email a voice memo to contact@marievakakis.com.au, and it might be featured in a future episode of Inside Social Work.

Your curiosity could help shape a conversation that resonates with the wider community.

Want to be a guest? Submit a speaker request here

http://marievakakis.com.au/be-a-podcast-guest/

Got an anonymous question? Submit it here:

https://forms.gle/wg7Lk61xde9Lge976

In this episode of Inside Social Work, I am joined by psychologist and researcher Dr Bronwyn Milkins for an honest, reflective conversation about the professional and emotional impact of client suicide.

We discuss the emotional aftermath, ethical concerns, and the invisible weight carried by clinicians, social workers, and mental health practitioners.

Whether you've experienced this personally or are supporting someone who has, this episode offers insight, validation and guidance.

Key takeaways

• Why suicide loss can feel isolating for professionals

• The unspoken guilt, shame and fear that often accompany a client death

• How organisations and colleagues can support impacted staff

• The importance of reflective practice and clinical supervision

• Balancing professional responsibility with human vulnerability

• Navigating coronial investigations and confidentiality concerns

• Reframing grief and finding space to heal

About the Guest:

Dr Bronwyn Milkins (PhD, MPsych) is a psychologist and researcher whose passions are working therapeutically with neurodivergent and LGBTIQA+ clients with trauma, advocacy on equitable and accessible mental health care, and supporting diversity in the mental health workforce. Bronwyn’s current research aims to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people who experience trauma-related dissociation. She also hosts the popular 'Mental Work' podcast which exists to support Australian mental health workers.

Contact Dr Bronwyn Milkins @ mentalworkpodcast@gmail.com

Resources

• Royal College of Psychiatrists – If a Patient Dies by Suicide (PDF)
• APA – Coping with Patient Suicide
• IASP – Guidelines to Assist Clinical Staff After Suicide

🎙️ If this topic resonates with you, or if you’re navigating the loss of a client, this episode might offer some comfort or perspective.

Got something you'd like to hear on the podcast?

🎙️ Got a question or something on your mind? Send it through. You can write it or email a voice memo to contact@marievakakis.com.au, and it might be featured in a future episode of Inside Social Work.

Your curiosity could help shape a conversation that resonates with the wider community.

Want to be a guest? Submit a speaker request here

http://marievakakis.com.au/be-a-podcast-guest/

Got an anonymous question? Submit it here:

https://forms.gle/wg7Lk61xde9Lge976

What does it really mean to work in this space? To support others, hold complex stories, and still show up with care?

In this new season of Inside Social Work, I’m having real, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations about life as a social worker and allied health professional. Whether you’re just starting, mid-career, or wondering what’s next, this season is for you.

We’ll explore supervision, burnout, grief, identity shifts, cultural safety, politics, money, and the things that impact our work but rarely get talked about in training.

I'll be sharing reflections, research, and stories from the field, with a mix of expert voices and everyday practitioners.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I doing enough?” or “Does anyone else feel like this?”, you’re not alone.

🎙️ Got a question or something on your mind? Send it through. You can write it or email a voice memo to contact@marievakakis.com.au, and it might be featured in a future episode of Inside Social Work.

Your curiosity could help shape a conversation that resonates with the wider community.

Want to be a guest? Submit a speaker request here

http://marievakakis.com.au/be-a-podcast-guest/

Got an anonymous question? Submit it here:

https://forms.gle/wg7Lk61xde9Lge976

Workplace bullying, burnout, and work-related stress are significant issues that can have detrimental effects on individuals in various professions. It's essential to recognise the signs of workplace bullying, take action early, and prioritise self-care to prevent long-term negative effects on mental and physical health.

In this episode, our guest, Frances Caile shares her experiences and insights on workplace bullying, burnout, and work-related stress. She explains how she was drawn to social work and her transition to private practice to have more time to do good work without the politics of organisations and paperwork. She discusses her motivation for setting up her private practice and her specialisations in workplace bullying, burnout, and workplace stress.

• Key Takeaways:
• 
  
• Workplace bullying is defined as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety
• 
  
• Examples of workplace bullying include spreading rumours, excluding or isolating someone socially, intimidation, threatening a person's role or performance, undermining or impeding a person's work, and withholding necessary information
• 
  
• Workplace bullying can have serious consequences on the mental and physical health of the victims, and it's important to seek assistance and support early to prevent long-term negative effects
• 
  
• Work-related stress and burnout are common in high-stress roles such as social work, teaching, and healthcare, as well as in resource-constrained environments with high turnover and competition for promotion
• 
  
• It's crucial to prioritise self-care, set boundaries, and seek support when experiencing work-related stress and burnout to prevent long-term physical and mental health issues.

Contact details for Frances

https://www.stresssupport.com.au/

Promo code for working ISW2023 for 20% off

https://marievakakis.com.au/

https://marievakakis.com.au/connected-teens/

Helping women recover from interpersonal trauma and violence

Liz is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker who runs her own private practice called Breathe therapy. She's a mindful trauma therapist and is really passionate about supporting women to heal from childhood and adult experiences of interpersonal violence and abuse.

Liz has done some really incredible work and we talk about some of her social work journey, and how she incorporates various techniques such as act DBT, and mindfulness into working with women to recover from some of those experiences and diagnosis such as PTSD, anxiety, OCD, and other sorts of things that can really stem from those early experiences that women face. I hope you enjoy this episode with Liz.

Contact Liz

BreatheTherapy.com.au

Ashton talks us through some steps you can take to work towards your accreditation.

She shares some of the resources that she's developed, including her accredited Mental Health Social Worker roadmap, which is part of an ebook series, private Facebook group that she has, as well as her consultation and training

We talk about supervision and what we wish we knew when we were first starting out and the importance of that.

Guest bio

Ashton is a an accredited mental health social worker with a background of working in human services and mental health settings.

She has over a decade of experience in child protection, housing, forensic and mental health settings. She currently provides supervision to human services and mental health professionals across Australia. She is also the owner and director of Willowtree Wellbeing, a counselling clinic in Western Sydney, NSW.

Ashton is passionate about providing a safe and collaborative environment for supervision for social workers, caseworkers, team leaders and anyone who works in human services.

Contact guest

https://ashtonhayesconsulting.com.au/

Previous episode with Ashton

Episode 26 : From Paralegal to Social Worker. Working with children and trauma all while staying passionate about the work you do with Ashton Hayes

Supervision series

Part 1 Supervision

Part 2 - The benefits of Group Supervision

Part 3 Supervision - Understanding learning preferences

Inside Social Work Podcast

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