Clare MacLeod Consultancy

06/09/2025

02/09/2025

CW. ⚠️

I would like to publicly state that the vile excuse for a man in Geelong who has been charged with despicable acts of violence, is NOT a social worker. The social work title is unfortunately not protected here in Australia. There are many folks who claim to be social workers when they are not. Regardless of the profession he claims, he was in a place of power, and he abused that on the most heinous level.

Whilst social work has a history of abhorrent acts here in Australia and other countries, there are many of us who have worked hard to rebuild and reframe the past history. I commit to always remaining humble, acknowledging that I don’t know everything, building on cultural humility, and continuing to learn.

My hope is that folks can find the safety and support that they need to build the trust they need to heal the past. 💚💚💚💚💚

30/08/2025

Today is National Grief Awareness Day. This blog is a few years old now, but still applies. There are so many significant losses I could choose to talk about including those of ambiguous grief. However, I wanted to share about a grief that is often not talked about - the significance of losing a pet.

I remember my Mum taking our family cat, Tiger to the vet to be put to sleep. He was old and sick. I don’t remember my grief, but I do remember my Mum crying a lot, and my Dad getting angry because Mum had taken Tiger to the vet. Here were two very different responses to loss, but ultimately, both...

28/08/2025

Wear it Purple Day - 29th August
The purpose of Wear it Purple Day is ‘to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people.’ One of the key focus areas is about raising awareness and to assist youth organisations, institutions, etc. in creating inclusive experiences for rainbow young people.

As the Mum of a rainbow/unicorn young person, I have witnessed firsthand the heartache and real responses of others, with often misguided ideas and views, and often from well-intentioned people.

If you don’t know much about bi-erasure, please have a look at the links posted below. Imagine if you are in a couple as two married women and you are referred to as a ‘lesbian couple’ without considering that one or both women identify as bisexual. Bisexual erasure plays a critical role in reducing the community’s visibility.

https://bisexualresearch.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/bisexual-erasure-in-academic-research/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.2773

https://research-groups.usask.ca/morrison/documents/gay-now-bisexual-erasure.pdf

https://www.puntoorginternationaljournal.org/index.php/PIJ/article/view/60

https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2019/march/bisexual-mental-

http://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780429030307-11/future-directions-sgm-therapy-Matthew-skinta

http://www.booktopia.com.au/mindfulness-and-acceptance-for-gender-and-sexual-minorities-matthew-d-skinta/book/9781626254282.html

And now I’m off to stand outside Tim Nicholls’ office to protest the halting of HRT for trans kids. 80% of trans kids have thought about killing themselves, 40% have attempted su***de, and trans youth have ten times more mental health issues than cis gender kids. I stand with the LGBTQIA+ community.

***de

16/08/2025

For many of us, watching or reading the news is extremely challenging and overwhelming at the moment.
As a social worker, I was taught to pay attention to the news in order to advocate, educate, attempt to change policy, and share information.
I sometimes struggle with switching off from it because there's a part of me that feels like I'm ignoring it, and then I come back to remembering that to be there for others in whatever capacity that might be, I need to take care of me.
What have you lost in the midst of the awfulness that is the news across the world, or closer to home?
What can you come back to or find for YOU?

07/08/2025

Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in the big things, the busyness, and perfectionist stories that keep me busy! When I was at school, I detested science lessons. One of the only topics I can remember learning was the names of cloud formations.

I took this photo last week from my balcony looking to the west. It’s funny how those small pieces of information are stored in my memory bank, and suddenly popped out the other day to remind me of the present day moments that I can enjoy. I often look at clouds and identify their formations, and it’s just been something I have done without really thinking about it, and then the other day, this formation stopped me as I looked at it in detail. I’m including naming cloud formations as intentional mindful moments.

15/07/2025

This week is Non-Binary Awareness Week. As a fierce Ally, I’d like to share some information, and in particular in light of the awful issues going on around the world in relation to the LGBTQIA+ community. Young non-binary people have elevated rates of psychological distress, mental ill-health, and su***de risk when compared with their cisgender counterparts. This is not good enough and we can do better.

Please don’t scroll past. If you don’t know stuff, find out. Educate yourself. Think about how you can be an Ally. It may make a difference to someone you don’t even know. 💛🤍💜🖤

The non-binary pride flag was created in 2014 by Kye Rowan. Yellow represents people whose gender exists outside the binary, purple represents those whose gender is a mixture of—or between—male and female, black represents people who have no gender, and white represents those who embrace many or all genders.

The Non-Binary community is a diverse one, and includes people who identify as genderqueer, genderfluid, agender, bigender, and gender non-conforming. Non binary awareness week is a chance for the Non-Binary community to celebrate their unique experiences and identities, and to create visibility and understanding.

The goals of Non-Binary Awareness Week are to raise awareness of Non-Binary identities and to create a safe and inclusive space for Non-Binary people to share their stories and experiences. This week is also a great opportunity to start conversations about gender and to educate people on the spectrum of gender identities that exist.