Clinical Reflections

Some of the most important lessons I've learned as a therapist haven't come from textbooks.

They've come from sitting quietly with people as they try to make sense of loss, relationships, shame, hope and change.

The reflections below aren't intended as new models of therapy or definitive answers. They're simply observations that have emerged through practice, supervision and many years of conversation.

Some began as questions I found myself taking into supervision.

Others grew out of patterns I noticed appearing again and again in the therapy room.

My hope is that they encourage curiosity rather than certainty, and perhaps leave you thinking about your own practice a little differently.

What's Online Counselling Really Like?

A reflection on what surprised me most about working online, why presence matters more than proximity, and how the therapeutic relationship quickly becomes more important than the technology.

→ Read What's Online Counselling Really Like?

Helping Clients Prepare for Their First Online Counselling Session

A reflection on reducing uncertainty before the first session and helping clients arrive feeling safe enough to begin.

→ Read Helping Clients Prepare for Their First Online Counselling Session

Working with Silence
A reflection on recognising the difference between healing silence, protective silence and disconnection in the therapy room.
→ Read Working with Silence

Working with Resistance
Exploring resistance as protection rather than opposition, and how curiosity can transform therapeutic conversations.
→ Read Working with Resistance

Working with Guilt After Suicide
A reflection on guilt, hindsight and supporting people bereaved by suicide.
→ Read Working with Guilt After Suicide

When the Questions Fade
Why grief can sometimes feel louder after the funeral, the paperwork and the inquest are over.
→ Read When the Questions Fade

When Clients Don't Know How to Say Goodbye
A reflection on therapy endings, attachment and what saying goodbye can reveal about the therapeutic relationship.
→ Read When Clients Don't Know How to Say Goodbye

How to End Therapy Well
A practical guide to planning and ending counselling well, with reflective questions and ideas for bringing therapy to a meaningful close.
→ Read How to End Therapy Well

One of the things therapy has taught me is that the longer we practise, the less certain we often become.

Not because we know less.

Because we begin to appreciate the complexity of people's lives.

I hope these reflections offer reassurance that it's okay not to have all the answers.

Sometimes the most valuable thing we can bring into the room isn't certainty.

It's curiosity.

→ Explore Free Resources for Trainee & Newly Qualified Counsellors