Insights, updates and practical resources on clinical supervision, private practice, and building a sustainable counselling career — written by John Belchamber.
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Ethical Dilemmas Counsellors Bring to Supervision
Ethical dilemmas rarely arrive as a clean textbook case. They usually turn up as a nagging discomfort about a particular client or situation — something that doesn’t feel quite right but isn’t obviously a rule violation either. Supervision is exactly where that discomfort deserves airtime, before it turns into an actual problem. The dilemmas that…
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The Business Side of Supervision
The Business Side of Supervision: Why the PRACTICE Domain Matters as Much as Clinical Skill Most supervision, understandably, focuses on your clients — case conceptualisation, technique, ethics, your own reactions. All essential. But if you’re building or running a private practice, there’s a second job happening alongside the clinical one: running a small business. That…
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Imposter Syndrome in Private Practice, and How Supervision Helps
If you’ve ever sat with a client and quietly wondered whether you know what you’re doing — despite the qualifications, the hours, the good outcomes — you’re in very good company. Imposter syndrome shows up often in this profession, and private practice, where there’s no team down the hall to reality-check you, tends to make…
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Individual vs Group Supervision: What’s the Difference, and Which Is Right for You?
Individual vs. group supervision: Both individual and group supervision count toward your professional obligations, and both are genuinely valuable — they just offer different things. If you’re deciding between them, or wondering whether to add one alongside the other, here’s how they differ in practice. Individual supervision One-to-one supervision is entirely about your caseload, at…
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How to Choose the Right Clinical Supervisor
Picking a supervisor is one of those decisions that’s easy to rush — especially if you’re up against a renewal deadline — but it’s worth slowing down for. You’ll be bringing this person your hardest cases and your own doubts about your practice. Here’s what’s worth checking before you commit. Start with credentials At minimum,…
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What Is Clinical Supervision, and Why Do Counsellors Actually Need It?
If you’re newer to private practice, or just starting to think seriously about it, “supervision” can feel like one more box to tick for your membership renewal. It’s worth far more than that — done well, it’s one of the few places in this work where you get to slow down, think out loud, and…
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Introducing Supervision at Sunny Coast Counselling: The STEP-UP Approach
If you’re a counsellor building a private practice — whether you’re just starting out or a few years in — finding the right clinical supervisor matters. This month I’m formally opening up a new side of my work at Sunny Coast Counselling: individual and group clinical supervision for counsellors, delivered in person here on the…