Supervision
Room to Think
The work gets into you. Supervision is where you make sense of it, for your clients' sake and your own
Most supervisors know one world well. I spent twenty years in investment banking and senior corporate leadership before training as a psychodynamic psychotherapist, and I now work as an executive coach, therapist and addiction specialist.
I supervise practitioners whose work sits where those worlds meet: coaches who need a clinical eye, therapists working with high-pressure professionals, and addiction and recovery practitioners.
For coaches: the clinical eye
Coaching clients bring more than goals. Anxiety, low mood, drinking, burnout and old patterns often sit beneath the presenting issue, and good coaching can stir them up. Most coaching supervisors aren't trained to see them.
I help you understand what is going on beneath the surface, work with it within the coaching frame, and recognise when a client needs more than coaching, and how to refer well.
We might think about:
A client whose progress keeps stalling, and you can't see why
Signs of anxiety, depression, addiction or trauma, and where the coaching boundary sits
What a client stirs up in you, and how to use it
The three-way relationship with sponsors, HR and the organisation paying for the work
For therapists: the organisational eye
Bankers, lawyers, consultants, founders and senior leaders bring a world into the room that many therapists have never worked in. Power, money, status, long hours and the culture of high performance shape how these clients present, and how they relate to you.
I know that world from the inside. I help you understand the setting your client lives in, and what it is doing in the therapy.
We might think about:
Clients who seem impervious, controlling or always in a hurry
Feeling intimidated or envious, or pulled to admire or compete with a client
Work, careers and organisations as the stage for a client's difficulties
Fees, missed sessions and the client who treats therapy like a service contract
For addiction and recovery practitioners: the specialist eye
Addiction work has its own pressures. Relapse, chaotic attendance, shame and risk can leave practitioners swinging between hope and despair, or caught between rescuing and giving up. It is easy to over-function, to collude without realising, or to burn out quietly.
I have supervised addiction key workers for several years and lead clinical supervision at a specialist addiction and recovery charity. I understand harm reduction, peer-led and abstinence-based approaches, and hold them alongside a psychodynamic understanding of why people use and why change is so hard.
I work with counsellors, key workers, peer-support workers and recovery coaches. I welcome practitioners from the LGBTQ+ community, and those working with LGBTQ+ clients, including around chemsex and sexualised drug use.
How I work
My thinking is psychodynamic, explained in plain language and put to practical use. A few simple ideas run through it.
What clients make you feel is information. Irritation, boredom, protectiveness, a wish to rescue or a sense of hopelessness often tell you something about the client. We use those feelings rather than push them aside.
Patterns repeat. What happens in a client's relationships often shows up in their relationship with you. Noticing it can unlock work that feels stuck.
The setting matters. Contracts, boundaries, fees and endings are not just admin. How a client relates to them is part of the work.
You matter too. Your own history and reactions shape the work. Supervision is a place to notice that without judgement, and to look after yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you work? In person or remotely?
I work in person in Central London, in Angel and Fitzrovia, and remotely via Zoom or Teams.
How does it start?
We begin with a free 20-minute introductory call to talk about your work, what you need from supervision and whether we are a good fit. If we go ahead, we agree a short written supervision contract and review it after six months.
How often, and for how long?
Individual sessions are 60 minutes, usually monthly or fortnightly, depending on your caseload and your professional body's requirements.
What does it cost?
Individual supervision, 60 minutes: £150 per session, in person or online.
Small-group supervision (three or four practitioners, 90 minutes, monthly) – £60 per person per session, by arrangement.
Supervision for internal coaching pools, teams and services – fees on enquiry.
A limited number of reduced-fee places are available for peer-support and voluntary recovery workers. Please ask.
Do I need to be psychodynamic, or a therapist?
No. I supervise coaches and therapists from many approaches, including person-centred, integrative, CBT-informed, solution-focused and recovery-model work. I won't ask you to change how you work, only to look at it from another angle.
Will it meet my professional body's requirements?
Please check your own body's requirements for supervision hours and supervisor experience. I am happy to confirm hours and provide what you need for your records or accreditation.
Is supervision confidential?
Yes. Client material is discussed anonymously. The usual limits apply where there is a serious risk to someone's safety or a significant ethical concern, which we would always discuss together first.
Do you take trainees?
I currently work with qualified practitioners and experienced recovery workers, and am not taking trainees on placement.
Can I cancel a session?
Cancellations more than 48 hours before a session can be rescheduled at no charge. Later cancellations and no-shows are charged.