Goddesses of Social Work Podcast

Renita Ray Davis, LICSW-S, PIP

Welcome to The Goddesses of Social Work Podcast hosted by Renita Ray Davis licensed clinical social worker, board-approved clinical supervisor, and facilitator of the Goddesses of Social Work supervision community. Join us as we traverse through the social work journeys of licensed master social workers working toward clinical licensure.

  1. 1d ago

    Small Things Count Too: Stories from an Emergency Room Social Worker | Dr. Erin Daniels

    What happens behind hospital emergency room doors? Beyond the medical emergencies, there are stories of humanity, compassion, grief, resilience, and the small moments that can change someone’s day. In this episode of the Goddesses of Social Work Podcast, host Renita Ray Davis welcomes Dr. Erin Daniels, DSW, LICSW, MA, an emergency room social worker, writer, and storyteller. Dr. Daniels shares her unexpected journey into social work, the experiences that have shaped her career, and the inspiration behind her manuscript, Stories From the Other Side of the Hospital Doors, a collection of 50 true stories drawn from her work in emergency departments. Together, they explore the power of human connection, the emotional weight of social work, spirituality in clinical practice, and the importance of recognizing the humanity of people who are too often overlooked. The conversation also ventures into environmental justice, the challenges of navigating systems during natural disasters, and the creative process of transforming professional experiences into meaningful stories. Along the way, Dr. Daniels shares excerpts from her writing, explains the significance of the flower she wears in her hair, and reminds us that sometimes the smallest gestures leave the greatest impact. Connect with Dr. Erin Daniels Newsletter: Small Things Count Too - https://swdrerin.substack.com/ Dr. Daniels' author website: https://swdrerindaniels.com Connect with Goddesses of Social Work Illuminated Expressions, LLC Subscribe to the Goddesses of Social Work Podcast for more conversations celebrating the experiences, wisdom, creativity, and humanity of social workers.

    Small Things Count Too: Stories from an Emergency Room Social Worker | Dr. Erin Daniels
  2. Oct 14

    Coming Home To Yourself | Reiki • Sound Healing • Stillness with Patti Block

    Coming Home to Yourself | Reiki • Sound Healing • Stillness with Patti Block What does it mean to come home to yourself? In this episode of the Goddesses of Social Work Podcast, I welcome Patti Block, Reiki Master, Vibrational Sound Therapist, and founder of Zen Body Waves in Montgomery, Alabama. Patti is also my Reiki teacher, so this conversation holds a special place in my heart. Together, we explore Reiki, sound healing, the importance of stillness, and the ways we can reconnect with ourselves amid the demands of everyday life. For social workers and other helping professionals who spend so much time holding space for others, this conversation offers an invitation to consider what it means to create that same space for ourselves. Whether you're familiar with energy healing or simply curious, I invite you to listen with an open mind and consider what coming home to yourself might mean in your own life. ✨ Explore Reiki Level I & II Training Patti and I are coming together in January 2027 to offer Reiki Level I and II training through Illuminated Expressions, LLC, an approved Alabama Board of Social Work continuing education provider. Alabama social workers can earn continuing education credit through this training. Learn more and register: https://www.zenbodywaves.com/zen-body-waves-upcoming-events/reiki-level-1-2 Connect with Patti Block Zen Body Waves — hello@zenbodywaves.com About the Goddesses of Social Work Podcast A space for authentic conversations about social work, healing, creativity, identity, personal growth, and the experiences that shape our lives. Thank you for listening, and remember that there is room for all of who you are.

    Coming Home To Yourself | Reiki • Sound Healing • Stillness with Patti Block
  3. Sep 23

    A Journey of Healing: PTSD, Recovery & the Social Worker | Mary Clark, LICSW Part 1

    What happens when the social worker becomes the person who needs support? In Part One of this conversation, I sit down with former Goddess supervisee Mary Clark, LICSW, to talk about her journey into social work and the personal healing journey that changed the way she understands herself, her profession, and the meaning of recovery. Mary shares openly about her experience with PTSD, seeking treatment, and learning that healing is not necessarily about arriving neatly on the “other side.” We talk about the ongoing and intentional work of recovery, the role of spirituality after trauma, and what it means to be a mental health professional who also needs, and deserves, care. Our conversation also explores something we don't always talk about enough in this profession: social workers are human, too. We can have training, clinical knowledge, and experience supporting others and still encounter moments in our own lives that require us to reach for support. This is Part One of my conversation with Mary. In Part Two, we continue by exploring the complementary and holistic practices that have become part of her healing and professional journey, including movement, meditation, yoga, massage, and her growing vision for women's wellness. 🎙️ Goddesses of Social Work Podcast Hosted by Renita Ray Davis ✨Contact Mary Clark Here: 👉mkclark8@crimson.ua.edu ✨Find more of Renita's offerings here: 👉 https://linktr.ee/illuminatedexpressions ✨Artistic Pathways to Clarity Journal 👉https://artisticpathwaystoclarity.my.canva.site/clarity Interested in Mastering Your Therapeutic Techniques for Dementia Caregivers? 👉 https://gamma.app/docs/Interested-in-Mastering-Your-Therapeutic-Techniques-for-Dementia--7fnyf5ydeq70qd5 ✨ Goddess of Social Work Earrings – Etsy: 👉 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1183285270/goddess-of-social-work-earrings

    A Journey of Healing: PTSD, Recovery & the Social Worker | Mary Clark, LICSW Part 1
  4. Sep 16

    Making His Life Count: Social Work, Suicide Prevention & the R.I.C.K.Y. Framework with Dr. Mary Sewell, DSW, LMSW

    Nearly ten years ago, I first knew Dr. Mary Sewell as my social work student. Today, I have the privilege of sitting across from her as a fellow social worker, doctoral scholar, researcher, and creator of the R.I.C.K.Y. Framework. In this deeply personal conversation, Dr. Sewell shares the experiences that shaped her journey from social work practitioner to Doctor of Social Work, including the loss of her son, Ricky, to suicide and her decision to make sure that his life and his name continued to count. That commitment eventually became scholarship. Dr. Sewell's doctoral research explored culturally responsive suicide assessment among African American adolescents and led to the development of the R.I.C.K.Y. Framework: Relational Connection, Identity Affirmation, Culturally Attuned Communication, Knowledge and Awareness, and Youth Empowerment. We talk about the limitations of relying on standardized suicide assessment tools alone, the importance of listening to the language young people actually use, and what culturally responsive practice can look like when social workers make room for culture, identity, relationships, context, and lived experience. Mary also reflects on her work with Indigenous communities, including the Lakota Nation and the Havasupai Tribe, and what those experiences taught her about cultural humility, relationship, and the danger of assuming that we already understand another person's experience. This is a conversation about grief, purpose, scholarship, culture, social work, and what can happen when a social worker asks, “What do I do next?” Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, suicide assessment, and the death of a child by suicide. Please listen with care. ✨Contact Dr. Mary Sewell Here: 👉marysewell0214@gmail.com ✨Find more of Renita's offerings here: 👉 https://linktr.ee/illuminatedexpressions ✨Artistic Pathways to Clarity Journal 👉https://artisticpathwaystoclarity.my.canva.site/clarity Interested in Mastering Your Therapeutic Techniques for Dementia Caregivers? 👉 https://gamma.app/docs/Interested-in-Mastering-Your-Therapeutic-Techniques-for-Dementia--7fnyf5ydeq70qd5 ✨ Goddess of Social Work Earrings – Etsy: 👉 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1183285270/goddess-of-social-work-earrings

    Making His Life Count: Social Work, Suicide Prevention & the R.I.C.K.Y. Framework with Dr. Mary Sewell, DSW, LMSW
  5. Sep 9

    Beyond the Diagnosis: Aging, Dementia & the Care Collective with Christine Richmond, LMSW | Part 2

    What does it look like to care for the whole person, not simply respond to a diagnosis? In Part Two of Renita's conversation with Christine Richmond, we pick up exactly where we left off: Christine said yes to an unexpected opportunity. Now we get to hear what she helped build. Christine introduces us to the Care Collective and the world of geriatric care management, sharing how care managers help older adults and families navigate the often complicated realities of aging, healthcare, resources, and changing care needs. The conversation moves into dementia care and some of the things families may misunderstand when a loved one is experiencing cognitive changes. Christine discusses the role social workers can play in supporting older adults and their families and explores what person-centered dementia care looks like when we see the individual beyond the disease. Along the way, Renita and Christine talk about the knowledge, advocacy, creativity, and human connection social workers bring to this work, and why understanding the person behind the diagnosis matters. If you haven't listened to Part One, “Say Yes: Social Work, Opportunity & the Unexpected Path with Christine Richmond,” start there to hear the story of the professional journey that brought Christine to this work. ✨ Goddesses of Social Work Podcast Conversations about social work, the people who do it, and the many ways this profession can take shape. ✨Find Christine Richmond Here: 👉christine@carecollectivehealth.org 👉https://www.carecollectivehealth.org/ ✨Find more of Renita's offerings here: 👉 https://linktr.ee/illuminatedexpressions ✨Artistic Pathways to Clarity Journal 👉https://artisticpathwaystoclarity.my.canva.site/clarity Interested in Mastering Your Therapeutic Techniques for Dementia Caregivers? 👉 https://gamma.app/docs/Interested-in-Mastering-Your-Therapeutic-Techniques-for-Dementia--7fnyf5ydeq70qd5 ✨ Goddess of Social Work Earrings – Etsy: 👉 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1183285270/goddess-of-social-work-earrings

    Beyond the Diagnosis: Aging, Dementia & the Care Collective with Christine Richmond, LMSW | Part 2
  6. Sep 2

    Say Yes: Social Work, Opportunity & the Unexpected Path with Christine Richmond, LMSW | Part 1

    What happens when you stop limiting what social work is supposed to look like and start saying yes to the opportunities in front of you? In Part One of this conversation, Renita sits down with Christine Richmond, a social worker whose career has taken her through geriatric social work, leadership, entrepreneurship, and paths she never necessarily planned for. Christine shares how she found her way into social work, the opportunities that shaped her career, and what she learned about recognizing her own value along the way. They also talk about the limiting phrase “I’m just a social worker,” the many directions a social work career can take, and what it means to become willing to leave the security of what you know when something new is calling. And then Christine reaches a moment that beautifully captures her journey: Here’s the opportunity. Say yes. That’s where we’ll leave you, for now. Join us for Part Two, when the conversation continues with what happened after Christine said yes and the story of the Care Collective. ✨ Goddesses of Social Work Podcast Conversations about social work, the people who do it, and the many ways this profession can take shape. ✨Find Christine Richmond Here: 👉christine@carecollectivehealth.org 👉https://www.carecollectivehealth.org/ ✨Find more of Renita's offerings here: 👉 https://linktr.ee/illuminatedexpressions ✨Artistic Pathways to Clarity Journal 👉https://artisticpathwaystoclarity.my.canva.site/clarity Interested in Mastering Your Therapeutic Techniques for Dementia Caregivers? 👉 https://gamma.app/docs/Interested-in-Mastering-Your-Therapeutic-Techniques-for-Dementia--7fnyf5ydeq70qd5 ✨ Goddess of Social Work Earrings – Etsy: 👉 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1183285270/goddess-of-social-work-earrings

    Say Yes: Social Work, Opportunity & the Unexpected Path with Christine Richmond, LMSW | Part 1
  7. Aug 26

    Beyond Struggle: Art, Black Interiority & the Expansiveness of Social Work with Morgan Overton, MSW

    In this episode of the Goddesses of Social Work Podcast, Renita sits down with Morgan Overton, MSW, a social worker and multidisciplinary visual artist whose work explores Black interiority, ancestral memory, and the fullness of Black life beyond narratives of struggle. Their conversation began after meeting at the Harlem Fine Arts Show in the Hamptons, where Morgan was a featured artist and speaker. When Renita discovered that the artist whose work had captured her attention was also a social worker, there was immediately more to explore. Together, they talk about the threads connecting Morgan's experiences in psychology, social work, politics, community organizing, and visual art; what Black interiority means in her work; and what becomes possible when struggle is no longer the center of how we understand Black life, or the social work profession itself. Morgan also reflects on the social work values present in her art, the experience of bringing her identities as artist and social worker together, and what creativity and imagination can offer a profession that is often understood primarily through problems, needs, and struggle. This is a conversation about art, social work, identity, imagination, and giving ourselves permission to recognize just how expansive this profession, and the people within it, can be. ✨Find Morgan Overton Here: 👉HOME | Morgan Overton ✨Find more of Renita's offerings here: 👉 https://linktr.ee/illuminatedexpressions ✨Artistic Pathways to Clarity Journal 👉https://artisticpathwaystoclarity.my.canva.site/clarity Interested in Mastering Your Therapeutic Techniques for Dementia Caregivers? 👉 https://gamma.app/docs/Interested-in-Mastering-Your-Therapeutic-Techniques-for-Dementia--7fnyf5ydeq70qd5 ✨ Goddess of Social Work Earrings – Etsy: 👉 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1183285270/goddess-of-social-work-earrings

    Beyond Struggle: Art, Black Interiority & the Expansiveness of Social Work with Morgan Overton, MSW

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Goddesses of Social Work Podcast hosted by Renita Ray Davis licensed clinical social worker, board-approved clinical supervisor, and facilitator of the Goddesses of Social Work supervision community. Join us as we traverse through the social work journeys of licensed master social workers working toward clinical licensure.