Shows
Cycling in Alignment with Colby PearceBlood Flow Restriction Training with Dr Mike DeBord - Ep 193Blood Flow Restriction Training with Dr Mike DeBord - Ep193
In this episode I speak with Dr Mike DeBord about Blood Flow Restriction Training and how it is an extremely effective training method for endurance athletes.
BFR simultaneously creates an environment of oxygen scarcity and elevated lactate levels, which stimulate mitochondria and also upregulate anabolic hormones.
This training method is extremely time efficient, as you only wear the bands for a handful of minutes.
I am sure you will enjoy this conversation with Dr Mike. If you are interested in purchasing BFR ba...
2026-04-271h 02
The Secure Start® Podcast#47: What Children In Care Say Matters Most - Lisa HolmesSend us Fan MailWe love neat metrics in children’s social care because they fit on dashboards: placement stability, school attainment, cost per child. But when you sit down with people who’ve actually lived the care system, the story gets messier and far more human. Colby Pearce is joined Professor Dr Lisa Holmes, one of the world’s leading researchers in residential childcare, to ask a simple question with huge consequences: what outcomes are truly meaningful for children in out-of-home care?We talk about why “countable” outcomes can crowd out what children need to heal an...
2026-04-261h 12
The Secure Start® Podcast#46: Attachment In Supervision, with Dr Alex RowellSend us Fan MailSupervision can look calm on the outside while a whole attachment system is firing underneath. When a supervisee is worried about risk, second-guessing an intervention, or feeling judged, the supervision room stops being a “case review” and becomes a relationship shaped by safety, power, and emotion. That’s where attachment theory becomes more than an idea, it becomes a practical lens for clinical supervision.We sit down with Dr Alex Rowell, clinical psychologist, educator, and certified supervisor, to talk about attachment-based supervision and why it fits across orientations, from psychodynamic psychotherapy to str...
2026-04-201h 05
The Secure Start® Podcast#45: What If “Bad Behaviour” Is A Disability We Refuse To See, with William "Liam" CurranSend us Fan MailKids don’t “choose” impulsivity, shutdowns, school blow-ups or constant conflict at home, yet child protection and education systems still treat many of these behaviours like attitude problems. We sit down with William “Liam” Curran, a clinical social worker and international FASD educator, to unpack what fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) really looks like on the ground, especially the hidden presentation NDPAE (Neurodevelopmental Disorder Associated With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure) that can slip past clinicians because there are no obvious facial features.We talk frankly about why proof of prenatal alcohol exposure is so hard...
2026-04-121h 18
The Secure Start® Podcast#44: I am seen, so I am*, with Paul van HeeswijkSend us Fan MailA 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 his practice, from early encounters with the deschooling movement to a format...
2026-03-301h 21
The Secure Start® Podcast#43: Whose Truth Becomes A Child’s Story? Therapeutic Life Story Work, With Professor Richard RoseSend us Fan MailKids 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 book. Richard explains why files and court documents are rarely “the truth”...
2026-03-211h 19
The Secure Start® Podcast#42: How Barbara Docker-Drysdale Built Therapeutic Skill In Care Teams - John WhitwellSend us Fan MailA 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 under pressure. We dig into what her consultancy actually...
2026-03-151h 04
The Secure Start® Podcast#41: From Bambi To Boundaries: What Objects Reveal About Mind, Body, And Meaning, with Richard RollinsonSend us Fan MailA 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 in a crowded cinema reveals the gap that trauma can carve between event and feeling. Rosie...
2026-03-011h 14
The Secure Start® Podcast#40: Rethinking Harmful Sexual Behaviour In Kids, with Alan JenkinsSend us Fan MailWhat 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—often deepen the very conditions that fuel harm. He traces a common pathway that starts with curiosity, is supercharge...
2026-02-221h 18
The Secure Start® Podcast#39: Sri Lanka’s Care System: Progress, Gaps, And Hope - Nimali KumariSend us Fan MailWhat 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 key alternatives. She shares how things have improved—care plans, school access, and more respect...
2026-02-1456 min
The Secure Start® Podcast#38: Why Emotional Reactions Are Data And How Organisations Can Turn Them Into Care, with Emma HiggsSend us Fan MailWhat 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 APPCIOS, a home for practitioners who work psychodynamically outside traditional consulting rooms. We explore projection, countertransference and containment as es...
2026-02-071h 29
The Secure Start® Podcast#37: From Chaos To Calm: Routines, Relationships, And Real Change In Residential Care, Tom EllisonSend us Fan MailWhat 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 begins with jargon or the latest training. Tom shares how reflective spaces keep teams aligned...
2026-02-011h 31
The Secure Start® Podcast#36: What If Behaviour Is Just Armour For Hurt? Vicki McKeownSend us Fan MailWhat 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 therapy and makes a strong case for working with the whole caregiving unit...
2026-01-251h 00
The Secure Start® Podcast#34: Making the conscious unconscious, with Peter BlakeSend us Fan MailI 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: observe, think, talk in good time • early anxieties, attachment, and security needs • unrepressed unconscious and...
2026-01-181h 27
The Secure Start® Podcast#35: What If Children's Safeguarding Began With Love? Carla KeyteSend us Fan MailWhat 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 from behaviour management to relational healing, and ask the tough question: how do we...
2026-01-1157 min
The Secure Start® PodcastOrdinary Life, Extraordinary Care - A Recap of 2025 on The Secure Start PodcastSend us Fan MailThis 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.comSecure Start Site: https://securestart.com.au/Please also consider becoming as member on my Patreon page. Membership is free, b...
2025-12-3113 min
The Secure Start® Podcast#33 Care Leavers To Care Leaders - with Surja (Udayan Care Alumni)Send us Fan MailWhat 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 map the mechanics of the LIFT Fellowship: a one‑year journey t...
2025-12-241h 04
The Secure Start® Podcast#32 It Takes A Network, Not A Superhero - with Robbie GilliganSend us Fan MailWhat 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.Acr...
2025-12-141h 06
The Secure Start® Podcast#31 Truth First: Caring Beyond The System, with Louise AllenSend us Fan MailSome 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.We get prac...
2025-12-031h 14
The Secure Start® Podcast#30 - John Turberville: How The Mulberry Bush Helps Children Relearn Trust Through RelationshipsSend us Fan MailIn 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, & multiple placement breakdowns. John reflects on the organisation’s 75-year legacy, the central role of relationships, family work, trust, innovation, & reflective practice, & why high-quality residential care must be seen as a placement of choice—not a last resort—in child protection & out-of-home care.John traces his path from a surveyor in London to therapeutic childcare in The Co...
2025-12-011h 21
The Secure Start® Podcast#29 From Trauma To Hope, with Dr Hayley LugassySend us Fan MailWhat 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 enduring sensitivities like abandonment anxiety, the long work...
2025-11-091h 05
The Secure Start® Podcast#28 What If Child Protection Started Before Harm Happened, with Professor Julie TaylorSend us Fan MailImagine 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 to map the layers that shape risk and protection: pers...
2025-11-0157 min
The Secure Start® Podcast#27 Why Clear Primary Tasks And Brave Authority Transform Children’s Homes, with Tom EllisonSend us Fan MailThe 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 use supervision to keep that alignment steady.Tom breaks alignment into a livi...
2025-10-251h 18
The Secure Start® Podcast#26 How a Reflective, Respectful Approach Helped Families Choose Healthier Relationships, with Adriana DiasSend us Fan MailSome 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 strategies, adjusting the plan with supervision, and redefining success as the best possible connection for each family.We trace how an exter...
2025-10-111h 05
The Secure Start® Podcast#25 How supporting adults creates the safety children need to learn, belong, and heal, with Megan CorcoranSend us Fan MailWhat if the most powerful lever for child healing sits with the adults who show up every day? I sat down with trauma-informed educator and Wagtail Institute founder Megan Corcoran to unpack how belonging transforms classrooms—and why staff wellbeing isn’t a “nice to have,” it’s the backbone of consistent care. Drawing on years in alternative education and leadership, Megan lays out a clear path: support adults, stabilise culture, and simple, universal practices will start doing heavy lifting for learning and behaviour.We explore the everyday moves that make a school f...
2025-10-051h 03
The Secure Start® Podcast#24 Holding the Helpers, with Richard CrossSend us Fan MailWhat if the most transformative thing we can do for children is to care for the carers first? That’s the provocative starting point for a wide-ranging conversation with psychotherapist and clinical leader Richard Cross, whose work brings attachment theory out of the textbook and into daily practice across residential homes, foster services, schools and clinical teams.We explore how containment, supervision, and shared language turn trauma-informed care from a training buzzword into a living culture. Richard breaks down the ATIC approach—Attachment and Trauma Informed Care—built on two parallel pathwa...
2025-09-301h 15