Children grow in the love of someone
Susan Barton (Podcast #16)
Your home for expert commentary about child protection, out-of-home care, and related endeavours.
Trauma informed practice is less about correcting behaviours of concern, and more about responding therapeutically to the reasons for them.
Colby Pearce (Podcast Host)
#1 Reunifying 1,200 Children: The Connecting Families Story with Sally Rhodes
When working with vulnerable families, shame can be destructive. “Acknowledgement on its own doesn’t bring safety.” Sally Rhodes shares how 1,200+ successful family reunifications came from building relationships, not demanding admissions. #ChildProtection #SocialWork
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#2 Building Healing Environments for Traumatized Youth, with John Whitwell
The growth potential exists within every child—our job is creating the right conditions for it to emerge. Former Cotswold Community principal John Whitwell shares what 30+ years in therapeutic care taught him about healing trauma. Listen here:
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#3 Navigating Trauma Through Reflective Practice, with Dr Nicola O’Sullivan
“Don’t drop your defenses. You need them until we have something better.” Dr O’Sullivan challenges conventional thinking about emotional responses in child protection work. How might understanding our defensive processes actually improve our effectiveness with vulnerable families?
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#4 Parental Navigation of the Digital Frontier, with Catherine Knibbs
What do babies make of a world where parents are constantly distracted by screens? Catherine Nibbs explores how “three-parent families” (mum, dad, device) are reshaping attachment and development. A must-listen for modern parents.
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#5 Shame Containment Theory: A Revolutionary Approach, with Lisa Etherson
What if shame isn’t something to avoid, but a process we need to understand? Lisa Etherson’s Shame Containment Theory reveals how attachment injuries from childhood shape our adult behaviors. A must-listen for anyone working with troubled teens or adults.
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#6 Healing Through Relationship: A Lifetime in Therapeutic Care, with Adela Holmes
After 52 years working with traumatized children, Adela Holmes knows one truth: “An ordinary life is the great aspiration for children who’ve experienced trauma.” Her pioneering work at Hurstbridge Farm shows how therapeutic care can completely change a child’s life trajectory.
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#7 From Cotswold Community to Global Health: Healing Systems, with Graeme Kerridge
From the Cotswold Community to global health: What can a therapeutic residential care model for troubled boys teach us about healthcare systems worldwide? The connection might surprise you.
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#8 Beyond Management: Why Culture Flows Downhill, with Lynne Peyton
“Culture flows downhill.” Leadership expert Lynne Payton reveals why empowered staff create empowered clients. After decades in social services during Northern Ireland’s troubles, she’s learned what truly makes organisations thrive. Listen to discover her CORE model for sustainable change.
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#9 Leadership Alignment: The Backbone of Therapeutic Practice, with Simon Benjamin
True therapeutic care means alignment through the entire organisation. When leadership creates reflective spaces at every level, even for themselves, real healing happens. What structures does your organisation have in place?
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#10 Transforming Lives: Dr. Kiran Modi’s Journey with Vulnerable Children in India
From American literature professor to founder of India’s most innovative child welfare organization—Dr. Kiran Modi’s work has supported 16,000+ girls in education and created the country’s first care leavers network. What drives this remarkable transformation?
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Special Episode: Exploring Attachment, Self-Worth, and Shame, with Colby Pearce
Self-worth is the antidote to shame. Children see themselves as they experience adults seeing them. When we notice their progress rather than just their problems, we give them the gift of a new self-image. What small wins can you celebrate today?
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#11 Breaking Cycles: Healing Across Generations with Dr. Lisa Cherry
Children don’t leave care systems and suddenly become adults. Dr. Lisa Cherry shares how her personal journey from care to homelessness to advocacy shaped her mission to transform trauma-informed practice. What would services look like if they truly understood human development?
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#12 From Orphanage to Therapeutic Community: Portugal’s Residential Care Revolution
After 200 years of operation, this Portuguese residential home has transformed from an orphanage to a therapeutic community. Their success rate? 99% of girls complete education, with many advancing to university. How can we replicate this model elsewhere?
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#13 Breaking the Cycle: How Investing in Children’s Services Changes Lives, with Andrew Isaac
23% of UK prison population has been through the care system. If we reduce these numbers, we’d free up nearly £1 billion from the justice system. Early intervention isn’t just right—it’s economically smart. What other benefits would proper care funding unlock?
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#14 Learning to Live with Yourself and Others: Insights from Therapeutic Residential Care, with Richard Rollinson
“If I can’t be in their mind, I better be on their mind, because if I’m not either of those places, I’m out of their mind.” Richard Rollinson shares profound insights on why troubled children seek attention at any cost. Listen to this powerful conversation on therapeutic care.
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#15 Unlocking Potential Through Love and Acceptance, with Patricia Sheridan
Patricia Sheridan built Morehouse School on a radical idea: that love, acceptance, and belief in children’s potential could transform lives. 40 years later, Scotland’s childcare landscape has caught up to her vision. What began as a lone voice is now a movement.
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#16 Building Hope: Lighthouse Foundation’s Legacy of Love
When Susan Barton saw a dying baby in Sri Lanka, she returned to Australia changed forever. Now her Lighthouse Foundation creates healing homes where children find belonging through relationship. Their secret? “Every child needs just one person to love them.”
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#17 The Hidden Strengths of Residential Care: Challenging the Status Quo with Dr Jenna Bollinger
“Relationships are what makes stability.” Dr. Bollinger’s research reveals that for young people in residential care, feeling loved creates lasting connections. When a young man corrected her: “No, I felt loved,” she knew she’d discovered something profound.
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#18 Relentless Kindness: The Foundation of Therapeutic Care, with Adela Holmes
“We relentlessly were nice and good… being able to use relationships to build safety and trust.” Hear how Adela Holmes transformed traumatized children’s lives through relationship-based care. What could happen if we prioritized connection over control?
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#19 From Winnicott’s Piano to Adolescent Minds: Peter Wilson’s Journey
From playing Winnicott’s piano to founding Young Minds charity – Peter Wilson shares how an economics graduate accidentally became a pioneer in children’s mental health. Is CBT really the answer? His experience suggests otherwise.
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#20 Challenging Last Resort Thinking: Why Some Children Thrive in Residential Care, with Dr Laura Steckley
“The world needs people who care about these kids.” Dr. Laura Steckley shares powerful insights on why residential care is sometimes the BEST option for children, not just the last resort. Her research challenges everything we think we know about caring for traumatized youth.
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#21 The Science of Prevention: How We Can End Child Maltreatment, with Benjamin Perks
One caring teacher changed Ben Perks’ life, setting him on a path from children’s homes to UNICEF leadership. His story shows why we must ensure every child feels safe, seen, secure and soothed. Could your connection with a child change their future?
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#22 Reimagining Children’s Homes: From Last Resort to Purposeful Healing, with Kevin Gallagher
“If it’s not therapeutic, what is it?” Dr. Kevin Gallagher shares why ALL residential care must be purposeful and planned. Listen as he unpacks 30 years of experience in children’s homes and why intentional care changes young lives. What do you think makes care truly effective?
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#23 Thirty-Five Placements and Counting: Why Some Kids Need a Different Option, with Bruce Henderson
When a 15-year-old has been in 35 different placements, how can we still believe the “family first” model works for everyone? Bruce Henderson challenges the conventional wisdom on residential care and advocates for quality over ideology.
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#24 Holding the Helpers, with Richard Cross
What if “care for the carers” is the real key to healing children? Richard Cross unpacks attachment, containment, and why residential care isn’t always a last resort. Listen and tell us: where should change start—staff or systems?
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#25 How supporting adults creates the safety children need to learn, belong, and heal, with Megan Corcoran
What if belonging is the real curriculum? We unpack how trauma-informed schools start by supporting adults, so kids can learn, trust, and thrive. Hear practical Tier 1 moves and leadership lessons. Listen now and tell us: what builds belonging at your school?
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#26 How a Reflective, Respectful Approach Helped Families Choose Healthier Relationships, with Adriana Dias
Bold idea: treat birth parents as partners, not problems. We dive into reflective practice, containment, and why partial reunification can be a win. Curious? Press play and share your take—what would you change in child protection?
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#27 Why Clear Primary Tasks And Brave Authority Transform Children’s Homes, with Tom Ellison
Tired of training that changes nothing? Hear how clear primary tasks, brave authority, and true alignment transform children’s homes. Practical tools, not jargon. Listen now and tell us: what’s your primary task?
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#28 What If Child Protection Started Before Harm Happened, with Professor Julie Taylor
Why are we always rescuing kids downstream instead of fixing the currents upstream? We dig into child maltreatment as a public health issue, poverty’s role, and what actually helps families. Listen now and tell us: what upstream change would you fund first?
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#29 From Trauma To Hope, with Dr Hayley Lugassy
“Say sorry to your kids.” A bold case for accountability with kindness, plus a journey from teen parent to educational psychologist. Curious how connection can coexist with consequences? Tune in, then share a moment you repaired well—what worked?
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#30 “Relearning Trust Through Relationships”, with John Turberville
What if residential care wasn’t the last stop, but the right start for children carrying deep relational wounds? We sit down with John Turberville, CEO of the Mulberry Bush, to explore how a therapeutic community rebuilds trust, safety and belonging for children who have lived through trauma, rupture and repeated placement breakdowns.
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#31 Truth First: Caring Beyond The System, with Louise Allen
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 place to just be a kid.
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#32 It Takes A Network, Not A Superhero – with Robbie Gilligan
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-facing practice that turns values into opportunities.
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#33 Care Leavers To Care Leaders – with Surja (Udayan Care Alumni)
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.
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Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Care – A Recap of 2025 on The Secure Start Podcast
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!
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