Thinking Beyond Direct Practice And The Clinical Office: Macro Pathways with Patrick Taylor

Patrick Taylor, LCSW, US Air Force veteran and doctoral student in Social Work at USC, tells the story of how learning about the Grand Challenges for Social Work in his program and being surprised by how few Social Workers knew about them led him to recognize the experience as a systemic issue. Taylor's research led him to coin the phrase the Micro Pipeline in Social Work (MPISW), the systemic funneling of social workers into clinical roles at the expense of macro exposure, development, and support.Taylor describes how social work’s identity became tied to a medical model and overly associated with mental health. He shares his own pathway from his early beginnings as a sociology student through his experiences with the clinical licensure process, and explains why he created Macro Pathways as an early-intervention, social worker-informed prototype to help students and professionals reimagine macro work, build community, and move the profession toward balance, prevention, and broader influence.Connect with Macro Pathways on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/macropathways/🔔 If you haven't already...SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@socialjusticeoriginstories?sub_confirmation=1❤️ SUPPORT THE PROJECT Support this work by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/SocialJusticeOriginStories💬 SHARE YOUR STORY OR FEEDBACK Your voice helps shape this community and may be featured in a future episode.Email: [email protected] a Voice Note: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com/contact/ or https://www.speakpipe.com/socialjusticeoriginstoriesOr leave a comment below🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOWWebsite: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.comApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-justice-origin-stories/id1771268991Wherever You Get Your Podcasts: https://pod.link/1771268991Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialjusticeoriginstories/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567841874653Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sjoriginstories.bsky.socialLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-justice-origin-stories/LinkedIn (Relando): https://www.linkedin.com/in/relandothompkinsjones/LinkTree for more: https://linktr.ee/SocialJusticeOriginStories?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZzPfl3gCm5NY9C_Y-glRzwDu-8BvHfkCJaQlDihfrQxbYWC1dnxgRL2kU_aem_kmgEcokBmDt8WaAtlWQMQQSocial Justice Origin Stories is produced, edited, and hosted by Relando Thompkins-Jones.00:00 Do You Know About The Grand Challenges Of Social Work?00:58 Micro Pipeline Explained03:02 Why Macro Matters Now05:13 Show Intro And Guest Welcome08:11 Taylor Origins And Mission11:00 Macro Pathways Early Intervention14:07 Rebalancing The Profession18:50 Building The Prototype24:43 Reimagining What Macro Social Work Is27:40 Design Labs And Community Feedback31:02 Big Vision And Next Steps35:08 Why Macro Pathways Matters35:56 MSW Training Skews Clinical37:31 Licensure Hurdles and Feeling Trapped39:16 Macro Pathways as Movement41:37 Why Sociology First44:33 Mentors Who Changed Everything50:43 Thank You to Supporters52:19 Creativity as Systems Change56:39 Rejecting Status Quo Thinking58:09 Advice for Students and Newcomers01:00:40 True Social Justice Needs Balance01:01:55 Tell Your Origin Story01:02:42 Message to Future Generations01:04:55 Thinking Beyond Direct Practice01:05:49 Closing and Where to Listen