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

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

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