Good Enough Counsellors

Working with couples can feel very different from working with individual clients. There are two people in the room, two different perspectives and the added challenge of managing what happens between them.
In this episode of the Good Enough Counsellors podcast, I talk to integrative psychotherapist, couples therapist and clinical supervisor Claire Ratcliffe about how therapists can feel more confident working with couples.
Claire shares that she didn't always enjoy couples work. Despite completing couples therapy training, she initially felt out of her depth and eventually removed couples counselling from her profile altogether. It was only when she found an approach that suited her, alongside specialist training and supervision, that her experience began to change.
Today, couples work is something she loves.
We talk about what makes couples counselling so rewarding, as well as some of the challenges therapists can face when working with more than one client in the room and how to handle them.
Towards the end of our conversation, we return to something that made a huge difference to both Claire's experience and my own reflections on working with couples: supervision. Claire explains why specialist couples supervision matters and how learning alongside other therapists can help you develop your skills and feel less alone when the work feels challenging.
Claire is also developing a group supervision membership for couples and relationship therapists, with opportunities to learn through case discussion and shared experience. You can find out more about Claire and her supervision offer through the links below.
In this episode, we discuss:
Why Claire initially stopped offering couples counselling
The difference the right training and specialist supervision can make
What Claire now loves about working with couples
How childhood experiences and trauma can play out within relationships
Helping partners listen without immediately reacting or making it about themselves
Why slowing things down can be so important in couples therapy
Sex, shame and differences in desire within relationships
Resentment, contempt and what can happen when couples seek help very late
Why couples therapists can benefit from learning together in supervision
What to do if you want to work with couples but don't yet feel confident

If you've ever received an enquiry from a couple and wondered whether you're really equipped to help them, I hope this conversation reassures you that feeling out of your depth doesn't necessarily mean couples work isn't for you. Sometimes it means you need more training, more support and the opportunity to learn alongside people who understand the particular challenges of the work.
About Claire Ratcliffe
Claire Ratcliffe is an integrative psychotherapist, couples therapist and clinical supervisor. She works extensively with relationships, trauma and psychosexual issues and is passionate about helping other therapists develop their confidence in couples work.
Claire also hosts the Healing Relationships: With Ourselves, Others & The World podcast and shares relationship education on TikTok.
You can find out more about Claire and her supervision on her website, HERE
Therapy Growth Group
If this episode has got you thinking about the support you'd like with your own private practice, you can also find details of Therapy Growth Group below.
From the week beginning 12 October, we'll be spending four weeks exploring your niche: who you most want to help, how you uniquely help them, why clients might choose you and how you can communicate that clearly to prospective clients.
Therapy Growth Group includes regular live calls where you can ask questions, get feedback and connect with other therapists building their private practices.
Find out more on Josephine's website, https://josephinehughes.com
You can also find me here:
The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group
Josephine Hughes on Facebook
Josephine Hughes on YouTube
My website: josephinehughes.com
Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE
Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE
Keywords: couples counselling, couples therapy, working with couples, couples counsellor, relationship therapy, relationship counselling, therapist confidence, couples therapy training, couples therapy supervision, relationship therapist, clinical supervision, counselling supervision, private practice therapist, couples therapy skills, trauma and relationships, childhood trauma and relationships, psychosexual therapy, sex and relationships, relationship conflict, working with relationship issues, counsellor private practice, psychotherapist private practice, Good Enough Counsellors, Claire Ratcliffe, Josephine Hughes
The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.
Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.

It can be easy to wonder if there is any point posting on social media if hardly anyone likes it or no one comments.
But what if your social media is doing more work than you realise?
In this episode of the Good Enough Counsellors podcast, I share how having a presence on social media can help potential clients find you - even if they never actually read your posts.
I share my own experience of learning just how much Meta AI knew about me from my online presence: and why this is welcome from a marketing viewpoint. We're no longer only writing for humans because AI is increasingly using information from across the internet to understand who we are, what we do and who we're able to help.
You'll learn some simple ways to make it easier for AI to recommend you to clients and as this is my monthly social media episode, I also give you ideas for October.
In this episode:
Why low engagement doesn't necessarily mean your social media isn't working
How AI is changing the way people may find and choose therapists
Why being clear about who you help matters
How repeating your areas of interest can strengthen your online presence
Using real questions people ask as inspiration for posts
October content ideas around lived experience, identity, change and failure
Why lighter engagement posts still have a place on your social media

Links & Resources mentioned in this episode:
I'm running an Onlinevents workshop, Private Practice: Who Do You Most Want to Help?, on 26 September, exploring niching and becoming clearer about the people you most want to work with. You can book more HERE
I'm also working on a new resource about how therapists can improve their digital presence so they're more likely to be found and recommended through AI search. Click HERE if you'd like to hear more when it's ready.
Nicola Blunden's episode Trusting What Clients Know appeared in September 2025 and explores epistemic justice.
And coming up on the podcast next week, Claire Ratcliffe joins me to talk about couples counselling, followed by a second episode looking at fees and creating a financially sustainable private practice.
October Social Media Ideas
This year's World Mental Health Day theme of listening to lived experience gives us a starting point for thinking about what we've learnt from the people we work with and whose voices we might want to amplify. I also look at some of October's awareness dates around neurodivergence, menopause, Black History Month and LGBTQ+ experiences.
There are ideas around change and transition as autumn arrives, failure and perfectionism, and some lighter opportunities for posts that simply help people get to know you.
October dates listed in this episode:
October, all month: ADHD Awareness Month
October, all month: Menopause Awareness Month
October, all month: Black History Month UK
1 October: International Coffee Day
8 October: International Lesbian Day & World Dyslexia Awareness Day
10 October: World Mental Health Day
11 October: Coming Out Day
13 October: Day for Failure
14 October: Face Your Fears Day
16 October: Global Cat Day
15 October: International Pronouns Day
25 October: Daylight Saving Time ends / clocks go back
27 October: Black Cat Day
31 October: Halloween

Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE
Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE
You can also find me here:
The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group
Josephine Hughes on Facebook
Josephine Hughes on YouTube
My website: josephinehughes.com
Keywords:
social media for therapists, therapist marketing, counselling private practice, getting counselling clients, AI search for therapists, social media marketing, therapist visibility, private practice marketing, social media content ideas, October social media ideas
The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.
Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.

What happens when you realise a client has an eating disorder, but you're not an eating disorder specialist?
As therapists, we're taught not to work beyond our competence. But specialist eating disorder services are stretched, waiting lists can be long and sometimes there isn't anywhere else for a client to go.
So does referring on always have to be the answer?
In this episode of the Good Enough Counsellors podcast, I'm joined by counsellor, trainer and researcher Kel O'Neill to talk about why eating disorders aren't only an issue for specialist therapists.
Kel explains why eating disorders can be easy to miss, particularly when they aren't the reason someone originally comes to therapy. We talk about the influence of diet culture and weight loss medications, and why someone's weight doesn't necessarily tell us how unwell they are.
We also explore the difficult question of competence. How do you know whether you have enough knowledge to help? What role do supervision, training and multidisciplinary working play? And how can therapists think about risk without becoming so frightened of getting something wrong that they feel unable to help at all?
Kel also talks very movingly about her own lived experience and why a counsellor being willing to work with her made such an important difference to her life.
We discuss:
why all therapists need some awareness of eating disorders
how eating disorders can be hidden behind other presenting issues
shame and the stereotypes that can prevent people seeking help
diet culture, body image and weight loss medications
why you can't judge the seriousness of an eating disorder by someone's size
competence and knowing when you need additional support
multidisciplinary working in private practice
managing risk and the fear of getting things wrong
how training and specialist supervision can help
what therapists can offer even when they're not eating disorder specialists
VOXED and the importance of learning from lived experience

About Kel O'Neill
Kel O'Neill is a counsellor, trainer and researcher specialising in eating disorders. Alongside her private practice, she provides training and supervision for therapists and is the founder of VOXED, Voices of Experience in Eating Disorders, which brings together lived experience, clinical practice and different perspectives on eating disorder work.
Find out more about Kel via her website HERE and connect with her on Instagram HERE
Private Practice: Who Do You Most Want to Help?
One of the things therapists often worry about is feeling they need to know everything about every possible client presentation.
Becoming clearer about the people you most want to help gives you the opportunity to develop your confidence and expertise in the areas that particularly interest you.
On Saturday 26 September, I'm running a live Onlinevents workshop, Private Practice: Who Do You Most Want to Help?
We'll be exploring how to identify your niche and become clearer about the work you most want to do.
The workshop is pay what you can, and you can book directly through Onlinevents HERE
Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE
Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE
You can also find me here:
The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group
Josephine Hughes on Facebook
Josephine Hughes on YouTube
My website: josephinehughes.com
Keywords: eating disorders, eating disorders counselling, eating disorder therapy, therapists and eating disorders, counsellors and eating disorders, working with eating disorders, eating disorder competence, therapist competence, eating disorder risk, eating disorder awareness, eating disorder training, private practice counselling, diet culture, body image, weight loss medications, GLP-1, therapist supervision, Good Enough Counsellors, Kel O'Neill
The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.
Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.

Have you ever decided not to tell someone about your private practice because you've assumed they won't be interested?
Or perhaps hesitated because you think people won't be able to afford your fees?
As therapists we can often tell ourselves that people won't want to hear about our practice and will think we're being pushy or we're too expensive. But are those assumptions really about other people - or about protecting us from anticipated rejection and disappointment?
If we never tell people how we can help, we're taking away their opportunity to decide for themselves.
In this short episode, we explore:
The fear of rejection that can stop us talking about our private practice
How we let our assumptions about what others will think stop us in our tracks
The importance of allowing potential clients to make their own decisions

Ready to take the next step?
If you'd like some practical support to become more visible and attract more of the clients you most want to help, I'd love to welcome you into Therapy Growth Group.
Our 12 Action Steps programme is beginning again soon, guiding you through three months of manageable, practical actions to help you grow your private practice with confidence and without becoming someone you're not.
You'll find all the details HERE
Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE
Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE
You can also find me here:
The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group
Josephine Hughes on Facebook
Josephine Hughes on YouTube
My website: josephinehughes.com
Keywords: therapist marketing, private practice, attracting therapy clients, counselling private practice, therapist confidence, therapy business, private practice marketing, counsellor marketing, therapist visibility, therapy clients
The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.
Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.

Attracting therapy clients isn't just about having a great profile. Before someone books with you, they go through a series of decisions, and understanding that journey can completely change how you try to attract clients.
In this episode, I'm joined by website and marketing specialist Kat Love to explore the three stages every prospective client goes through:
Finding you through visibility and awareness
Choosing you by deciding whether you're the right therapist for them
Booking by feeling confident enough to take the next step

Together, we explore why so many therapists spend time polishing the later stages while avoiding the visibility work that helps people discover them in the first place. We also discuss how to make your website and profile work harder, reduce barriers to getting in touch, and use language that speaks to clients rather than other therapists.
This episode was originally released as From Being Found to Being Booked, and I've chosen to share it again because this discussion is such an important foundation for finding clients .
In this episode we discuss:
Why therapists often focus on the wrong stage of marketing
The three stages clients go through before they book therapy
Why visibility feels uncomfortable and how to find your own "window of marketing tolerance"
How your therapist profile helps clients decide you're the right fit
Why psychobabble can stop clients connecting with your message
Simple ways to make it easier for people to contact you
Ethical approaches to testimonials and social proof

Resources mentioned
Kat Love: https://katlove.com
Empathy Sites: https://empathysites.com

If you'd like practical support with your therapist profile, identifying your strengths, improving your marketing and attracting more of the clients you most want to help, you'll find details of Therapy Growth Group HERE
Listen now: if you'd like to understand how clients move from discovering you to choosing you and finally booking that first appointment, this episode will give you a practical framework you can start using straight away.
Setting up in private practice? Download my free checklist HERE
Need ideas for how to get clients? Download my free handout 21 Ways for Counsellors to Attract New Clients HERE
You can also find me here:
The Good Enough Counsellors Facebook Group
Josephine Hughes on Facebook
Josephine Hughes on YouTube
My website: josephinehughes.com
Keywords: how clients choose a therapist, therapy marketing, marketing for therapists, therapist profile, therapist website, therapist visibility, attract therapy clients, therapy enquiries, therapist profile writing, private practice marketing, counselling private practice, therapist website copy, Good Enough Counsellors
The information contained in Good Enough Counsellors is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this podcast are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this podcast. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this podcast.
Josephine Hughes disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this podcast.