Why can trauma make a memory from decades ago feel like it happened yesterday, while wiping other events out entirely?

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast, private practice social workers Dr Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive into the neurobiology of trauma and memory. They break down how the brain processes information normally versus how it shifts into survival mode under extreme stress.

This conversation is for everyone, whether you are a clinician, case manager, or anyone working directly with trauma, or if you are a survivor, love someone who is, or simply want to understand how the brain works. Jodie and Rose unpack the difference between explicit narrative memory and implicit "body memories". They explore the unique impacts of childhood adversity and how early trauma shapes a developing brain.

This episode sheds light on universal experiences of disclosure dynamics, dissociation, and betrayal trauma. Finally, they share the hope of neuroplasticity, spotlighting evidence-based pathways to healing like EMDR, CPT, and memory reconsolidation

What We Cover:

• The Brain's Team: How the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex fracture under stress.
• The Reshaping Window: How the brain strengthens threat cues and weakens the broader picture within 24 hours of an event.
• Time-Stamping & Triggers: Why the brain struggles to mark trauma as "past tense," causing survivors to relive rather than just remember.
• Somatic Memory & Dissociation: Understanding body memories, behavioural re-enactment, and the survival logic of "betrayal blindness".
• Defining Recovery: Why healing means gaining the confidence to manage your feelings and narrative, not forgetting the past.

Connect With Us:

• Webpage: relationalpracticeasocialworkpodcast.com.au
• Email: Relationalpractice01@gmail.com
• Socials: Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Please subscribe, rate, and review!
• Editing by Angus Pinkstone
• Music by Hannah Park

Support Services (Australia):

• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Please listen in a way that feels safe. Take care of yourself first.

"We were taught to be empathic. Nobody taught us what to do when it starts to hurt."

Think of a client whose story has stayed with you, one you’ve carried home, or that found its way into your sleep. That isn't a sign that something went wrong. That is empathy doing exactly what it was designed to do. But how do we sustain that empathy over an entire career without burning out?

In this episode of Relational Practice: A Social Work Podcast, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey unpack the neuroscience, the nuance, and the real-world practice of empathy. Moving beyond the idea that empathy is just a personality trait, they explore it as a multidimensional, neurobiological process that can be understood, developed, and regulated.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• The Three Types of Empathy: Breaking down Cognitive, Affective, and Compassionate empathy—and why understanding the difference dictates the "cost" of your connection.
• The Neuroscience of Connection: How mirror neurons literally activate a client's physiological experience in your own brain, and how Tania Singer’s research differentiates the pain centers of empathy from the reward circuits of compassion.
• The Empathy Dial & The Nervous System: A practical clinical tool to keep you in the "optimal zone" (present and curious, but not swept away) using a Polyvagal lens.
• Protecting Your Empathy: Daily, actionable strategies for social workers—including micro-debrief rituals, maximizing supervision, and tapping into vicarious resilience.

Empathy doesn't wear out, but an unregulated empathic response does. Tune in to learn how to adjust your dial, not to feel less, but to feel sustainably.

Connect with Us: Go to our new webpage at relationalpracticeasocialworkpodcast.com.au to access past episodes and our ambiguous loss printables. Have a practice story or question?

Drop us a line at relationalpractice01@gmail.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Editing by Angus Pinkstone.

Music by Hannah Park.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains detailed discussions regarding aggression, violence, and antisocial behaviour. We recognize this content may be distressing, so please prioritize your well-being while listening.

Aggression is a topic that sits at the very heart of social work practice, yet it is rarely "one-size-fits-all". In this episode, Dr. Jodie Park and Rose Mackey dive into the nuances of aggressive behaviour, moving beyond the surface-level outburst to understand the underlying drivers.

Whether you are navigating a heated argument with a client or assessing purposeful, goal-directed harm, the distinction between Reactive and Instrumental aggression changes everything about how we assess, respond to, and ultimately help the people we work with.

Key Discussion Points

• The Two Faces of Aggression: We break down the fundamental differences between Reactive Aggression (the "hot," impulsive survival response driven by fear or threat) and Instrumental Aggression (the "cold," calculated, and goal-directed behaviour).
• The Survival Brain vs. The Thinking Brain: Understanding how reactive aggression often stems from physiological arousal and trauma, where the emotional brain takes over before the thinking brain can intervene.
• The Challenge of Instrumental Aggression: Why "cold" aggression is often harder to identify clinically and its strong links to callous-unemotional traits and reduced empathy.
• Evidence-Based Interventions: We explore which treatments work for which profile—ranging from CBT, Anger Management, and DBT for reactive patterns, to Schema Therapy and specialized cognitive training for instrumental behaviours.
• The Social Work Strength: Why a whole-person, systemic, and trauma-informed lens is the most powerful tool for de-escalation and long-term change.
• Practitioner Safety: A vital reminder that clinician self-care is a non-negotiable part of working with high-risk behaviours.

We’d love to hear from you! Do you have a story, question, or topic you'd like us to talk about? Or maybe you'd like to join us as a guest on an episode? Drop us a line at relationalpractice01@gmail.com

Editing by Angus Pinkstone.

Music by Hannah Park.