Welcome to The Rebellious Practitioner—Why Systemic Change Starts with You
What if the most radical act of systemic change is taking care of yourself first?
For years, I’ve worked at the intersections of violence, trauma, and systemic harm. Through Project 507, I’ve supported hundreds of practitioners working in front-facing roles—youth workers, social workers, prison officers, and others navigating institutions that often perpetuate the same harm they’re meant to address.
And here’s what I’ve learned: the people doing the work are often at risk of being harmed by it, especially when trauma is involved.
Many have unconsciously learnt that real commitment means self-sacrifice, often leading to compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and burnout. But what if that narrative is wrong? What if sustaining ourselves isn’t a personal indulgence but a collective necessity?
Why I’m Launching The Rebellious Practitioner
I’ve made some significant shifts recently. Project 507 has evolved, moving beyond direct interventions to focus on supporting the people who hold others. If we don’t sustain the practitioners, the systems won’t change.
This blog, The Rebellious Practitioner, is part of that evolution.
It’s a space to ask bold questions:
What happens when we put our care—our actual human well-being—at the centre of our work?
How do we dismantle systems of harm while refusing to replicate those harms in how we treat ourselves?
What might our professions—and the world—look like if we stop wearing burnout as a badge of honour?
Being a Rebellious Practitioner means rejecting the idea that exhaustion is proof of commitment. It means imagining a future where caring for yourself is part of the work and systemic change emerges from that foundation.
Where We’re Going Together
In this blog I’ll share reflections and practical strategies for sustaining ourselves while working toward systemic change. Expect:
Tools for Sustaining Yourself—practices for reflection, rest, and resistance.
Challenging the Status Quo—how current systems extract from and exhaust practitioners and what we can do differently.
Collective Wisdom—insights from others reimagining what care looks like in systemically harmful institutions.
My invitation: What would change if you centred your care without apology?
I’d love to hear from you. What does being a Rebellious Practitioner mean to you? What questions are you holding about how to sustain yourself and your work?
Here’s to challenging the stories that no longer serve us and building something better.
With care and rebellion,
Whitney xoxo
