Why I Built this course - And why I did it online.
When I started thinking seriously about creating a course around risk in private practice, a few things kept standing out to me.
I noticed it in colleagues at university — a nervousness around the topic that went beyond not knowing what to do. I noticed it in Facebook groups for counsellors, where moments of uncertainty and lack of confidence would surface regularly. And I noticed it in my NHS role, speaking to therapists who would sometimes pass things over quickly, without looking further, without quite trusting themselves to stay with it.
It became clear to me that this wasn't really a knowledge problem. Most therapists know, broadly, what they should do when risk comes into the room. The issue is confidence. The confidence to work with it. The confidence to look at things more carefully. The confidence to make a decision and know why you've made it.
What I Could Bring That Might Be Different
Alongside my private practice, I work for the NHS on a mental health crisis line — listening at crisis point, triaging, signposting, and contributing to the assessment process. It's the kind of role that has shaped how I think about risk in a very practical, human way.
What I've learned is that working well with risk is fundamentally about confidence — not certainty, but confidence. Knowing what you're doing and why. Feeling equipped rather than exposed. That's what I wanted to bring to private practice therapists.
I also went through a period just after I qualified where risk felt like too much. Where I wondered whether I should be taking on certain clients. Where I passed people over not because I couldn't help them, but because I didn't feel ready. I know what that feels like — and I know what made the difference.
Why Online and Self-Paced?
I thought carefully about this. What stops people from building confidence around risk? Sometimes it's the worry of looking stupid. Of asking a question that feels basic. Of not being sure of something in a room full of peers who seem more certain than you are.
An e-learning course felt like the answer to that. You can work through it in your own time. You can sit with questions without feeling inadequate. You can go back to sections when a client presentation brings something into focus. You can pause when something activates a feeling in you and take it to supervision before continuing. There's no performance required — just honest, private reflection.
I wanted to create something that felt different from the standard risk training. Not more information delivered at pace, but a genuine space to think, reflect and build confidence at your own speed.
The Process of Building It
I won't pretend it was all straightforward. Recording myself, putting my face on camera, speaking into a microphone in my office — none of that felt natural at first. There was a moment where I wondered whether I was really the right person to be doing this.
But something kept me going. The research, the planning, the process of thinking carefully about what would genuinely help someone sitting alone in a private practice room with a client in crisis — I found that I really enjoyed it. The creativity of thinking about how to present things in a way that would create perspective and understanding rather than just information. The sense that I was building something with a purpose.
And somewhere in that process, my confidence grew. Not just in recording or presenting, but in the material itself. In the value of what I was putting together. It turns out that doing something uncomfortable with a clear sense of why you're doing it is a pretty good route to confidence — which, when I think about it, is exactly what this course is asking you to do too.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is for:
— Counsellors and therapists working in private practice
— Students approaching the end of their training and thinking about independent practice
— Therapists thinking about moving into private practice
— Practitioners who want to brush up or improve their confidence in working with risk
— Anyone who has avoided taking on certain clients because risk feels like too much
You do not need to have worked extensively with risk to benefit from this course. If anything, it's designed for the moments before that experience — to help you feel ready rather than anxious when it arrives.
What's In It?
The course covers 10 self-paced sections including:
— Understanding risk as a dynamic process, not a fixed state
— Recognising verbal and behavioural warning signs
— How to ask directly about suicidal ideation — and why this matters
— Assessment frameworks, tools and their limits
— Collaborative safety planning
— Documentation and clinical reasoning
— Referral pathways in private practice
— Therapist wellbeing and what to do after difficult sessions
— Two clinical case vignettes with reflective questions
It also includes 12 downloadable resources and templates — including a collaborative safety plan, risk factors reference card, supervision agenda, documentation checklist and more — designed to be used in practice beyond the course itself.
A CPD certificate of completion is issued on passing the end of course quiz. CPD accreditation is anticipated to begin in October
.
What I Wanted It to Feel Like
I didn't want to make another course that left people feeling more informed but no more prepared. I wanted it to feel warm. Approachable. Like something that helps you think rather than tells you what to think.
"I really loved the warm tone and pacing of this course. Given the topic, it felt calm and reassuring — like a warm arm around the shoulder. For new graduates or those worried about risk, it is really supportive."
— Dani M, Counsellor in Private Practice
This course is not about eliminating anxiety around risk — that's not realistic and it's not honest. It's about the practical, pragmatic side. What do you do in advance to prepare? What are your actions in the moment? What tools and templates can you reach for?
I'm not suggesting I have all the answers. But I've built enough confidence to manage, to know what I need to do, and to stay present with clients who are struggling. And I think that's the goal for most of us.
Ready to Build Your Confidence?
The course is live now. To mark the launch I'm offering 20% off for the first 20 enrolments using the code TWENTY20 at checkout.
Full details and enrolment:
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