x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Secure Start® Podcast

In the same way that a secure base is the springboard for the growth of the child, knowledge of past endeavours and lessons learnt are the springboard for growth in current and future endeavours.If we do not revisit the lessons of the past we are doomed to relearning them over and over again, with the result that we may never really achieve a greater potential.In keeping with the idea we are encouraged to be the person we wished we knew when we were starting out, it is my vision for the podcast that

education how to

All Episodes

81:21

#44: I am seen, so I am*, with Paul van Heeswijk

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/03/30

Send us Fan Mail A child breaks a window and the adults don’t rush to punishment. They sit with him, gather as a team, and ask a harder question: what have we been missing in his communication? That single moment opens up a deeper way to understand trauma, behaviour, and what “care” actually looks like when it’s done well. We’re joined by Paul Van Heeswijk, a highly experienced child psychotherapist and former consultant to the Cotswold Community. Paul shares the stories that shaped hi...

en-au

79:30

#43: Whose Truth Becomes A Child’s Story? Therapeutic...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/03/21

Send us Fan Mail Kids in care don’t just wonder where they lived. They wonder why it happened and far too often they land on the most painful answer: it must have been my fault. I’m joined by Professor Richard Rose, founder of Therapeutic Life Story Work International, to talk about how trauma-informed storytelling can turn confusion, shame and “unknowns” into a narrative a child can actually live with. We unpack what makes Therapeutic Life Story Work different from a traditional life story ...

en-au

64:30

#42: How Barbara Docker-Drysdale Built Therapeutic...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/03/15

Send a text A child’s acting out can look like defiance, chaos, or “bad behaviour” until you treat it as communication and ask what the adults are missing. That single shift changes everything, and it sits at the heart of my conversation with John Whitwell as we revisit the work and legacy of Barbara Docker-Drysdale, better known to many as Mrs D. John explains why her influence on therapeutic communities wasn’t just theory, it was the weekly discipline of helping staff teams think clearly un...

en-au

74:55

#41: From Bambi To Boundaries: What Objects Reveal...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/03/01

Send a text A toy fawn, a wordless picture book, a skull on a desk—what can these objects teach us about caring for children who’ve known chaos, loss, and confusion? We welcome back Richard Rawlinson, former director of the Mulberry Bush and long-time consultant in therapeutic childcare, to explore how everyday items become portals to insight, empathy, and better practice. Richard traces a personal collection—gifts from children, reminders of moments, and metaphors with staying power. Bambi ...

en-au

78:43

#40: Rethinking Harmful Sexual Behaviour In Kids,...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/02/22

Send a text What if the biggest driver of harmful sexual behaviour in children isn’t deviance in the child, but disconnection in the systems around them? We sit down with Alan Jenkins—veteran practitioner, author of Becoming Ethical, and pioneer of “multi undisciplinary” teams—to rethink how shame, belonging, and power shape what children do and how adults respond. Across vivid stories from schools and services, Alan shows how our default reactions—suspensions, isolation, forensic labels—oft...

en-au

56:31

#39: Sri Lanka’s Care System: Progress, Gaps, And...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/02/14

Send a text What if turning 18 didn’t mean turning off support? We sit down with Nimmu, a powerhouse care leaver advocate from Sri Lanka, to map what’s changing, what still hurts, and how to build a system that puts children where they thrive—whether that’s family, kinship, adoption, or residential care. With warmth and precision, Nimmu explains Sri Lanka’s current landscape: most children live in Child Development Centres, foster care is in development, and adoption and kinship care remain k...

en-au

89:34

#38: Why Emotional Reactions Are Data And How...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/02/07

Send us a text What if the feelings that make this work so hard are the very clues that make it effective? We sit down with Emma Higgs, a child and adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist and organisational therapist, to unpack how psychodynamic thinking turns raw emotion into reliable information—and how organisations can harness it to protect staff and truly help distressed children and families. Emma traces her journey from a turbulent, formative therapeutic community to co-leading APPC...

en-au

91:43

#37: From Chaos To Calm: Routines, Relationships, And...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/01/31

Send us a text What if the most powerful “intervention” in residential care isn’t a therapy model at all, but the quiet predictability of daily life held by thoughtful adults? We sit down with social care consultant Tom Ellison to dig into what actually moves the dial for children who’ve lived through adversity: simple, stable routines, a clear primary task, and relationships that feel parental, enriched, and safe. Across a candid, story-rich conversation, we challenge the idea that progress...

en-au

60:30

#36: What If Behaviour Is Just Armour For Hurt? Vicki...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/01/25

Send us a text What if the behaviour that drives you up the wall is actually armour against shame? We sit down with psychotherapist and author Vicky McKeown to unpack how shame and attachment shape everyday life for children, parents, and the professionals who support them. From adoption and fostering to classrooms and case reports, we trace the subtle ways shame shows up and how a shift in language and stance can transform outcomes. Vicky shares her journey from criminology to trauma therap...

en-au

87:07

#34: Making the conscious unconscious, with Peter Blake

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/01/18

Send us a text I am very excited to release my conversation with Peter Blake on The Secure Start Podcast. We explore how children communicate through behaviour and play, why containment matters, and how to balance understanding with practical management. We share tools to notice meaning, time conversations well, and use a child’s passions to build safety, trust, and growth. • why being relaxed and steady allows containment • inner and outer worlds shaping behaviour • OTT method: ...

en-au

57:27

#35: What If Children's Safeguarding Began With Love?...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2026/01/11

Send us a text What if the most powerful safeguarding tool isn’t another form, but a steady adult who shows up with love? That’s the heart of my conversation with Carla Keyte, founder of Lighthouse and a leading voice in UK residential care, as we unpack how safe, stable, loving homes are built—and measured—through relationships, not fear. We explore how love-led practice, not fear-based compliance, creates safe, stable, loving homes in residential care. We trace the sector’s language shift ...

en-au

13:50

Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Care - A Recap of 2025...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/12/31

Send us a text This is a recap of the first 33 episodes of The Secure Start Podcast, all released in 2025. It has been an incredible honour to host them and I am looking forward to 2026! If you take something inspirational from the video, please consider liking and subscribing to this channel and related platforms. Links: Podcast Blog Site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.com/ Podcast site: https://thesecurestartpodcast.buzzsprout.com Secure Start Site: https://securestart.com.au/ Plea...

en-au

64:41

#33 Care Leavers To Care Leaders - with Surja (Udayan...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/12/24

Send us a text What happens when belief meets opportunity and doesn’t let go? We sit down with Surja—care‑experienced leader, LIFT alum, and global advocate—to trace a path from a village in Uttar Pradesh to a seat at international tables, and to unpack what real aftercare looks like when lived experience leads. With Dr Kiran Modi offering context on Udayan Care’s model, we explore how mentoring, peer networks, and co‑creation turn care leavers into care leaders. Across the conversation, we ...

en-au

66:38

#32 It Takes A Network, Not A Superhero - with Robbie...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/12/14

Send us a text What if lasting change for young people in care comes not from a single attachment, but from a web of “many good adults” who open doors to the wider world? We sit down with Emeritus Professor Robbie Gilligan to trace how schools, mentors, hobbies, and work links create belonging that survives the transition out of care. Drawing on four decades of research and vivid stories—from a nun buying Sinead O’Connor’s first guitar to a baker mentoring a teen before dawn—we map an outward...

en-au

74:59

#31 Truth First: Caring Beyond The System, with...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/12/03

Send us a text Some conversations burn slowly and then glow for days. Sitting down with Louise Allen, we trace a line from a childhood rewritten by others to a life spent restoring names, dignity, and futures. Louise grew up in care, became a long‑term foster carer, and now writes bestsellers that refuse to look away. She talks candidly about forced adoption, the quiet children who go unseen, and the neighbour who saved her by offering what the system couldn’t: warmth without conditions and a...

en-au

81:45

#30 - John Turberville: How The Mulberry Bush Helps...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/12/01

Send us a text In this in-depth conversation with John Turberville, CEO of The Mulberry Bush, we explore how therapeutic residential care transforms the lives of children who have experienced trauma, relational ruptures, and multiple placement breakdowns. John reflects on the organisation’s 75-year legacy, the central role of relationships, family work, trust, innovation, and reflective practice, and why high-quality residential care must be seen as a placement of choice—not a last resort—in ...

en-au

65:41

#29 From Trauma To Hope, with Dr Hayley Lugassy

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/11/09

Send us a text What does it really take to heal after trauma—and how do we help children do the same without causing more harm? I sit down with Dr Haley Lugassy, a senior educational psychologist whose lived journey from teenage trauma and isolation in Spain to rebuilding life and career in England reframes what recovery looks like. Her story is anchored by the power of one good adult, the steady fuel of hope, and the life‑changing mix of compassion and boundaries. Haley speaks openly about ...

en-au

57:36

#28 What If Child Protection Started Before Harm...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/11/01

Send us a text Imagine a world where we don’t just pull kids out of the river but walk upstream to stop them falling in. That’s the shift we make with Professor Julie Taylor, a leading nurse scientist whose work bridges health, social care, and the lived realities of families under pressure. Together we unpack child maltreatment as a public health challenge, not only a forensic problem, and explore what actually moves the needle on safety and wellbeing. We dig into the socioecological model ...

en-au

78:31

#27 Why Clear Primary Tasks And Brave Authority...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/10/25

Send us a text The work gets easier when the purpose gets clearer. I sit down with social care consultant and leadership trainer Tom Ellison to unpack how a simple, jargon-free primary task can reshape children’s residential care. Tom traces his path from frontline practice to boardrooms and back into coaching, explaining why so many teams know what “good” looks like yet struggle to do it consistently. His answer is both bold and practical: define the primary task, align everyone to it, and u...

en-au

65:02

#26 How a Reflective, Respectful Approach Helped...

The Secure Start® Podcast ·

2025/10/11

Send us a text Some projects change direction without losing their purpose—and that’s where real growth happens. I sit down with Portuguese clinical psychologist Adriana Dias to explore Ravira Volta, a pilot that helped girls in residential care and their birth families build healthier relationships by widening choice, deepening respect, and keeping reflection at the centre of the work. Rather than forcing a linear “turnaround,” Adriana’s team embraced non‑linear change: testing new strategie...

en-au

46 results

Similar Podcasts

Science Talk

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

五分钟心理学

柠檬心理

Daily Facts

Amalia Dupray and Montgomery Jones.

Les dents et dodo

BFMTV

Veterinary Clinical Podcasts

The Royal Veterinary College