Supervision: Where overthinking is actually encouraged

Starting out as a psychologist can feel a bit like being dropped into the deep end of a pool while someone on the sidelines yells, “Swim mindfully!” You’ve finished your training, you know the theory, and now there are real clients sitting in front of you… each one a complex intersection of experiences, identities, and stories that don’t quite fit the textbook examples.

This is where supervision becomes essential, not just to meet requirements, but to help you stay grounded, ethical, and human while you find your footing.

The bit between “I should know this” and “now I do”

Supervision is a reflective space to think critically about your work and yourself. It’s where you can process uncertainty, talk through the “I should probably know this by now” moments, and slowly develop a sense of your own therapeutic voice.

Being a psychologist isn’t about getting it “right.” It’s about being curious enough to notice when you’re not sure (and brave enough to explore why).

Everyone brings their luggage (and that’s the point)

Clients don’t arrive as blank slates. They bring their identities, histories, and social contexts, and so do we. Gender, culture, sexuality, neurotype, class, faith, privilege… these things shape how therapy unfolds, whether we acknowledge them or not.

Supervision is where you unpack that complexity safely. It’s where you examine your own lenses and assumptions, and learn to work with intersectionality in practice, not just theory. It’s where you start to understand that therapy isn’t just about symptoms; it’s about people navigating systems that often don’t treat them fairly.

The early career hustle: Now featuring boundaries

Early career psychologists occupy a tricky space. You’re qualified, but still developing confidence. You’re eager to build experience but also figuring out your limits. And sometimes, that combination makes early-career practitioners vulnerable to burnout (or to workplaces that quietly exploit that eagerness).

Good supervision helps protect against that. It’s a space to reality-check workload expectations, clarify ethical boundaries, and talk about professional dynamics that don’t always get covered in formal training.

Supervision isn’t just about clinical skill; it’s about learning how to navigate a profession that sometimes rewards overwork and self-sacrifice. It’s where you get to ask, “Is this sustainable?” and have someone help you find an answer that doesn’t involve ignoring your own wellbeing.

Support that actually does something

Good supervision isn’t just a pep talk, and it’s not therapy in disguise. It’s a mix of support, accountability, and quiet challenge.

Some weeks you’ll be doing the practical stuff: case formulation, treatment planning, risk management. Other weeks you’ll be unpacking the more human parts: transference, imposter syndrome, or that vague sense that something about a session felt off.

It’s meant to stretch you, not break you. And it should always make you think a little harder, ideally without leaving you in an existential spiral.

A final note from the trenches (metaphorical, mostly)

Supervision isn’t about proving yourself or pretending to know everything. It’s about slowing down long enough to think, reflect, and stay honest about your clients, your work, and yourself.

It’s where you learn to navigate uncertainty, hold complexity, and recognise when the system itself might be part of the problem.

And occasionally, it’s just a place to say, “That session was rough,” and hear, “Yeah, that makes sense.” No fanfare, no judgment, just the quiet reassurance that growth is happening, even when it doesn’t feel neat.