Zara O'Brien
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
For teams carrying the weight
of this work.
Working with children is deeply rewarding — and emotionally demanding. Reflective practice creates a structured, facilitated space to process, think together, and leave more resourced than when you arrived. For teams and for individuals. For clinical professionals and for the whole village.
WHAT IS REFLECTIVE PRACTICE?
Not supervision. Not therapy.
Something in between.
Reflective practice is a facilitated group process — a structured, regular space for professionals to bring their work, think about it together, and leave more resourced than when they arrived. It has similar functions to clinical supervision but is designed for the full breadth of the village — not just those with clinical registration.
Most people working with children are absorbing enormous amounts without adequate space to process it. A school pastoral lead holding the weight of fifty vulnerable children. A holiday park activity leader who witnessed a child's distress and had no one to debrief with. A funeral director supporting a family with young children through something devastating. These professionals need somewhere to bring that — and reflective practice is it.
WHAT EACH SESSION INCLUDES
Case discussion
Bring specific children, families, or situations you're carrying — for collaborative reflection, not judgment
Psychological insight
Understanding behaviour and family dynamics through a developmental psychology lens — grounded in clinical knowledge, made accessible
Emotional processing
A safe space to explore your own feelings and responses to the work — including vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue
Practical strategies
Leave with actionable approaches tailored to your setting and the children you're supporting
"Most people working with children are absorbing enormous amounts without adequate space to process it. Reflective practice is the structural response to that."
Professional growth
Continuous development of skills, confidence, and professional identity — including celebrating what's going well, not just problem-solving
Confidential space
What's shared stays there — within safeguarding boundaries, explained clearly from the start
HOW IT WORKS
For teams and
for individuals.
FOR ORGANISATIONS & TEAMS
Private group for your team
A dedicated reflective practice group for your staff — facilitated by Zara, shaped around your sector, your context, and what your team is actually carrying. Monthly or fortnightly, online or in person. Suitable for any team of 4–10 working with children and families.
90 minutes per session · Ongoing or time-limited · Pricing on request
FOR NETWORKS & PEER GROUPS
Private group for your network
If you have a network of peers — a group of childminders, an informal professional community, a local network of activity providers — Zara can set up and facilitate a reflective practice group specifically for you. You bring the people, Zara facilitates the space.
90 minutes per session · Monthly or fortnightly · Pricing on request
FOR INDIVIDUALS
Join an existing open group
You don't need a team or a network to access reflective practice. Zara runs open online groups for individual professionals — grouped by sector where possible, so you're reflecting alongside people who understand the specific pressures of your role. Childminders with childminders. Activity providers with activity providers.
90 minutes · Monthly · Online · Get in touch to find the right group
FOR SOLE PRACTITIONERS
One-to-one reflective practice
For professionals who want individual support rather than a group — school counsellors, therapists, nannies, or anyone working alone who needs a regular reflective space. Sessions shaped entirely around you and your work.
60 minutes · Frequency to suit · Online or in person · Pricing on request
FORMAT
90 minutes · 4–10 people
Online or in person · Monthly or fortnightly · Structured but responsive
CPD
Counts towards CPD
Recognised across BACP, Social Work England, NMC and many other bodies. A record of attendance and session content provided on request.
PRICING
Individual or organisational
Individual professionals can book single sessions or a series. Team and organisational packages available. All pricing discussed openly — get in touch.
WHO REFLECTIVE PRACTICE IS FOR
Any professional carrying
more than they should alone.
Unlike teachers or social workers, many professionals working with children have no structured space to reflect on what they encounter. Reflective practice fills that gap — for clinical and non-clinical professionals, for teams and for individuals.
SCHOOLS
Pastoral & Wellbeing Teams
Counsellors, pastoral leads, SEND coordinators, heads of year. Often absorbing the most, with the least professional support around them.
ACTIVITY PROVIDERS
Sports Coaches, Activity Leaders & Play Workers
Encountering children at their most unguarded — with no debriefing structure for what they witness.
HOLIDAY PARK LEISURE
Holiday Park & Leisure Teams
Staff regularly encountering families in crisis, children in distress, and situations with no clear protocol — and nowhere to process them.
FUNERAL PROFESSIONALS
Funeral Directors & Bereavement Teams
Holding grief daily, professionally and personally, without adequate structures for processing it. One of the most underserved professional needs in the village.
STATUTORY SERVICES
Social Workers & Early Help Teams
Navigating the most complex family situations. Reflective practice as essential professional maintenance — not a luxury.
COMMUNITY
Youth Workers, Charities & Community Staff
Doing some of the most important work with children — often with the least professional support infrastructure around them.
CREATIVE WORKERS
Arts, Music & Drama Practitioners
Working with children's emotional worlds through creative practice — often without clinical supervision or peer support structures.
HEALTH
Health Visitors, School Nurses & Primary Care
Seeing families at their most vulnerable — often holding concerns without adequate support structures to process them.
INDIVDUAL PROFESSIONALS
Childminders, Nannies, Activity Providers & Sole Practitioners
Working alone — in a family home, a private practice, or a solo setting — without the team or supervision structure most professionals have. You don't need an organisation behind you to access this.
IMMEDIATELY
Feel less alone with the work
The most consistent immediate outcome — the relief of a space where the weight can be acknowledged
OVERTIME
Think more clearly about complex situations
Reflective practice builds the capacity to hold complexity without being overwhelmed by it
ORGANISATIONALLY
Better team communication and collaboration
Teams that reflect together develop shared language, shared values, and shared confidence in their practice
Consistent across sectors and settings — from school pastoral teams to funeral professionals to childminders working alone.
The work is different.
What it gives you is the same.
WHAT IT DOES
Ready to get started?
Whether you're looking for a group for your team, a space for your peer network, or somewhere to join as an individual — get in touch and we'll find the right fit.