External Reflective Practice for Teams
Psychologist-facilitated professional reflection for teams undertaking complex and emotionally demanding work.
Teams that carry other people’s distress, risk and complexity every day rarely get protected time to think about the work together — and when they do, it is usually run by someone inside the organisation. This is an independent reflective space, facilitated by an experienced psychologist from outside your service, for considering complex work, practitioner responses, boundaries, ethical issues, team pressures and sustainable professional practice.
Who this is for
Psychology and allied health practices, occupational rehabilitation providers, disability and community services, human services, and similar professional environments where staff routinely encounter trauma, high-conflict or high-responsibility work. It suits clinical and practitioner teams, case-management and rehabilitation teams, and small services where the people doing the work also hold much of its weight.
It is often useful where a team has no external supervision or reflective practice in place, where the existing arrangements are internal and people are careful about what they say, or where a service wants something independent alongside its line management.
What it is — and what it is not
What it is
- An independent, facilitated space to think about complex and emotionally demanding work
- Room for practitioner responses to the work — including vicarious trauma, moral distress and the cumulative load — to be named and thought about
- Attention to boundaries, ethical issues, difficult cases and the pressures the team is working under
- A focus on sustainable professional practice: how people keep doing this work well over time
- Facilitation by a psychologist with a long background in the systems these teams work inside
What it is not
- Not performance management, and not a channel for reporting on individuals
- Not therapy delivered to a team, and not a substitute for individual psychological care where someone needs it
- Not a guarantee of burnout prevention, or of any particular organisational outcome
- Not formal profession-specific supervision unless that is explicitly agreed and within my scope
- Not a training program or a wellbeing workshop, though I can discuss those separately
How it usually works
- Format. Facilitated sessions of 60 to 90 minutes for a team or small group, by secure video wherever your team is in Australia. Other arrangements can be discussed.
- Frequency. A single session is a reasonable place to start. Where it is useful, teams commonly move to a regular rhythm — monthly or every six weeks — and we agree that after the first session rather than before.
- Scope, agreed in advance. Before the first session we agree who is in the room, what the sessions are for, and what — if anything — goes back to the organisation. My usual position is that the organisation receives confirmation of attendance and, only where agreed beforehand, general themes with no individual identified. What is said in the room otherwise stays in the room, within the usual legal and ethical limits.
- Fees. Quoted after a short scoping conversation, based on group size, session length and any preparation involved. There are no packages or subscriptions.
- Individual follow-up. Where a team member needs something more individual, professional consultation or psychological therapy are separate pathways, and the person’s choice.
Who facilitates
Suzanne Robertson is a registered psychologist and Board-approved supervisor with more than 25 years’ experience across workplace rehabilitation, psychological injury, employee assistance, disability and support services, and private practice. BioPsyche has a particular focus on workplace psychological harm, burnout, moral injury and the impact of demanding work on the people who do it — which is the ground these sessions stand on.
An independent space for the team to think about the work.
Tell me a little about the team, the work it does and what you are hoping the sessions will do, and I will come back to you to arrange a short scoping conversation. Or email admin@biopsyche.com.au.
Individuals: see Professional Supervision, Consultation & Reflective Practice, or for psychologists, Psychology Supervision & Professional Consultation.