In this episode, Louisa Jean-Pierre shares the painful story of racism she experienced at the work she loved.  She tells her professional journey, and how she came to nursing, which she wanted to do from a very young age.  Louisa's first qualification was achieved in 1972, and she was able to specialise in paediatrics, an area of nursing she loved.  Here are some of the challenges she faced, listen as she speaks about how painful this was and the impact upon her professionally and personally, they include;   she couldn't be herself, she received no positive feedback fr ..read more

Welcome to ep.65 of SWM, co-facilitators Sandie Chatterton, Sharon Jennings, Jo Williams and I reflect on our working partnerships as Black and White educators in the anti-racist practice and leadership space.   Apologies for the quality of the audio but hope this does not take away from the essence of our discussions - these critical conversations are unscripted, honest and respectful as we all navigate through this rocky terrain.  I hope we may keep on having these necessary conversations and remain intentional about action, so we avoid further cycles of rhetoric and collectiv ..read more

Counselling Psychologist & Systemic & Family Practitioner Paula St Ange and Trainee Clinical Psychologist Cassia Keziah Maximen join me in this episode to discuss Emotional Emancipation Circles. Aka as EECs are evidence-informed, psychologically sound, culturally grounded, and community-defined self-help support groups designed to help heal, and end, the trauma caused by the root cause of anti-Black racism. These two women have been group participants and are now trained as EEC group facilitators.  They share how and why these groups were started, the concept is an import from the ..read more

I met Lyn a couple of years ago in Dominica when I spent time on the Island.  On my trip late last year, we hired a vehicle from her company.  As we waited for the vehicle to be prepared we chatted in her office about life and somehow we got talking about her experiences of domestic violence.  I invited her to appear on this podcast and she did not hesitate to agree and stated that she would love other women to learn from her experiences.  When I returned to the UK we sought to set up the interview, this interview became more urgent as tragically two women were killed in Do ..read more

Sharon and I have a conversation about racism at work.  We intend to have Critical Conversations once a month about issues which have come up in the course of our work.  This episode and as I suspect may be the case with future conversations, relies heavily upon lived experiences and our honest reflections on some of what we have heard from colleagues, students and mentees and our sense-making of the experiences.   We begin our discussions by sharing our personal early realisations and experiences of racism.  We then go on to share 4 examples from our personal databases – t ..read more

Karen Burke is a respected and experienced Business Owner, Accountant, Power Up Coach (Personal Performance & Business), Author and Speaker. She is the co-founder with her husband, Devon, of the MindBody Therapy Centre in Forest Hill, SE23, London. Karen and Devon also run a social enterprise called, Therapy 4 Healing. Karen Burke is the author of Power Up for the Year and also the co-author with Devon Burke, of The Calming book of Healing Hugs, a book of tips and techniques on looking after yourself, expressing yourself with the ones you love and your communities within the wider world an ..read more

Diana Hylton is an independent social worker. She is the founder and director of AnAID Empowerment which provides a range of social work services across the UK. She has twenty years experience of working with vulnerable children and their families. Seventeen of those years have been spent working within challenging and diverse local authorities. Diana is a qualified practice educator and has supported numerous social work students through their training and into the profession. She is an expert within her field and is passionate about child protection and supporting families.     ..read more

My wonderful colleagues Shantel Thomas & Jo Williams enthusiastically share details about the course they created.  Its more than a course and we hear their intimate and relational accounts on the course creation, something of the personal impact upon them as co facilitators and what they believe the course has to offer the sector in terms of the 'journey' to becoming an ARP. Please share your thoughts and feel free to join our Fb community and continue to share in there.  I'm also happy to hear from you with recommendations for future SWM guests. References:  Kendi, I X (2 ..read more

Daniel Acheampong is a Trainee Educational Psychologist, there are very few men in this space and even fewer Black men.  In today's episode he shares his career journey and in particular what he learnt in his previous role as a teacher, what prompted his transition to ed. psych, his doctoral research and his hopes for the future.   email: drssmith@inclinetrainingconsultants.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/412169436067530 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information ..read more

SWM.ep.57 In this episode I am in conversation with Patricia Foster-McKenley founder of 'YouAreYou'. Writer, Poet, Performer, Speaker, Certified Education Consultant and IT Trainer, Broadcaster, Life Coach, Certified Reiki Practitioner and Vegan, Patricia’s dynamic, empathic and supportive approach to educating and improving lives, has empowered learners of all ages and seekers of an enhanced way of living life. Patricia has a uniquely intuitive gift and empathic approach towards empowering and healing people through poetry, coaching, tuition and workshops, Reiki, creativity & multimedia a ..read more