Revolutionary Social Work is Everyday Practice
Live Insights from NASW Conference in Chicago
The latest installment of the Revolutionary Social Work Podcast launched our new series, Social Work Outside the Status Quo, recorded live from the NASW national conference in Chicago. In this meaningful conversation, my partner, Alicia Stettler—a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Certified Yoga Teacher (CYT), and an advocate for holistic mental health—stepped out from her usual co-hosting role to share transformative insights from her unique blend of clinical expertise and yogic wisdom.
We grounded our dialogue in practical experiences, addressing trauma, resilience, and the transformative power of integrating holistic practices into family life, mental health, and revolutionary social work.
Embodied Family Practice: Living the Example
Alicia described vividly how daily yoga and breathwork shape our family dynamics and children's emotional growth:
"The best part of me getting up every morning and doing my yoga practice, and then using my breath throughout the day... our kids watch us and then we see them do it. I'll be out in the morning doing my yoga asana and pranayama and meditation, and one of the kids will come with their mat and put it beside me—doing their own little yoga or mimicking what I'm doing. They see us doing things that take care of ourselves, our body, our mind. It connects us as well."
This reflects real-world findings by researchers like Zhang, Wang, and Ying (2019). Their peer-reviewed study, Parental Mindfulness and Preschool Children’s Emotion Regulation, which analyzed data from over 450 parent–child pairs. It showed that higher parental mindfulness directly predicted better emotional regulation in children, mediated by mindful parenting and producing stronger parent–child attachment.
Transforming Energy, Transforming Relationships
Central to Alicia's practice is her philosophy of intentionally transforming challenging interpersonal energies. She explained clearly and practically:
“One thing I do teach people I work with is be careful not to just absorb everyone's energy or reflect their energy—transform it, right? So if someone is... giving out some tension and just more negative energy, you don't want to just absorb it and then reflect it back... you want to transform it into something that may be more easier for you to carry and then to use or something that's going to just transform the whole situation.”
What Alicia described is emotional transformation in real time: receiving tension without mirroring it, and choosing to shift the energy instead. It reflects one of Revolutionary Social Work’s most grounded commitments: that change begins in the smallest interpersonal choices, when we respond with clarity and responsibility instead of reaction.
The Circle of Self: An Integrated Model for Holistic Well-being
Alicia also introduced her original framework, the "Circle of Self," a model designed to support mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being through seven interwoven elements:
Movement – releasing what’s held in the body
Stillness – cultivating presence and reflection
Nature – connecting to land, season, rhythm
Community – sustaining honest relationships
Spirit – honoring your own path to meaning
Nourishment – caring for the body with intention
Love – holding oneself and others with care
“The Circle of Self is our compass. When we nurture each element, we’re grounded, whole, and more resilient to life’s inevitable storms.”
While the language of the model is Alicia’s own, it resonates with many Indigenous and ancestral frameworks that center relationship and interdependence. The Circle of Self echoes concepts found in ‘āina-based wisdom in Hawai‘i, the principle of ho‘oponopono (to make right), and the communal ethic of ubuntu—"I am because we are." Even within Rastafari reasoning, where I’n’I dissolves the boundary between self and other, we see the same movement toward wholeness through relational awareness. Alicia’s framework draws this spirit into everyday practice. For more on the Circle of Self, visit Alicia’s Substack:
Beyond Pain Management: Introducing Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
Alicia shared how she integrates Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) into her clinical practice with clients experiencing chronic pain. Instead of centering symptom management, PRT retrains the nervous system to interpret pain in new ways—viewing it as a learned pattern often rooted in fear or memory rather than as an automatic signal of harm.
This approach is supported by a 2021 randomized controlled trial published in JAMA Psychiatry (Ashar et al.), which found that 66% of participants receiving a 4-week PRT intervention were pain-free or nearly pain-free afterward—compared to 20% in placebo and just 10% in standard care. Follow-up at one year showed sustained outcomes (PubMed).
PRT reflects a deeper understanding of the mind–body relationship. Alicia explained that many clients come in believing their pain is purely physical, yet through guided sessions they begin to notice how tension, fear, or emotional triggers activate pain cycles. Reframing these patterns in a safe, attuned space helps shift both perception and experience.
This is revolutionary practice in action. It creates conditions for safety, which allow the nervous system to begin trusting again. As fear patterns loosen, the body finds new possibilities. That healing shows up in movement, in relationships, and across daily experience.
Daily Practice as Revolutionary Grounding
Throughout the conversation, Alicia modeled one of the clearest tenets of Revolutionary Social Work: transformation starts with the way we show up in our own lives, and extends from there to the systems we move through.
“Small, intentional shifts in daily routines have immense power. True revolution arises from personal clarity and daily practices aligned with our deepest values.”
In practice, this looks like Alicia pausing during conflict to notice her breath before speaking, or inviting a client to sit with a difficult emotion rather than rush to solve it. These moments, while quiet, carry weight. They interrupt cycles of harm. They create space for honesty and care to grow. That’s the heart of relational truth-telling.
Embodying the Everyday Practice That Transforms
This episode reminded us that Revolutionary Social Work comes alive through how we move through our days: with care, attention, and presence. Alicia’s healing practices—rooted in family routines, clinical work, and her personal rhythm—show how transformation grows from repetition and relationship. Living our values consistently creates space for new possibilities to take root. That’s where revolution begins—in the ordinary moments we choose to make sacred.
Engage and Connect with Us
To deepen your connection with our work, subscribe to our YouTube channel. For collaboration, speaking, or shared practice, reach out to us directly at revolutionarysocialwork@gmail.com.
Find more at RevolutionarySocialWork.com, and visit AliciaStettler.com and ProfessorAce.com for additional writing, projects, and upcoming offerings.