Professional Supervision for the people who hold everyone else up.
Confidential, structured supervision for early learning, education, health, NDIS and social care teams, delivered by AHPRA-registered psychologists and board-accredited therapists. Available in every state and territory, across metro and regional Australia.
Every Lerni supervisor is an AHPRA-registered psychologist or board-accredited therapist with sector experience, not a coach, not a facilitator.
What is professional supervision?
Professional supervision is a regular, confidential one-on-one conversation between a practitioner and an experienced supervisor. It is a structured space to think through the hardest parts of the work: the decisions, the incidents, the people, and the load you carry home.
Supervision is not therapy, and it is not performance management. It has been a practice standard in social work, psychology and health for years, and it is now becoming an expectation in early learning and disability services.
In health, counselling and social work it’s usually called clinical supervision. What clinical supervision involves →
Sessions typically run monthly, for an hour, either online or in person. Anything discussed in a session stays between the supervisee and the supervisor.
Monthly, one hour
The rhythm most services settle on. Fortnightly during periods of high load.
Online Sessions
Online delivery is how regional and remote services get a consistent supervisor each month.
How supervision differs from therapy, EAP and line management
These are often confused, and the differences decide which one actually helps.
| Focus | Frequency | Who delivers it | Confidentiality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional supervision | The work you carry | Monthly, ongoing | External practitioner, outside your reporting line | Confidential from your employer |
| Therapy | You, as the client | As clinically indicated | Treating practitioner | Clinical relationship |
| Employee assistance (EAP) | A personal difficulty, once it arises | Reactive, short-term | External counsellor | Confidential, but usually capped sessions |
| Line management / performance review | Your performance and allocation | As scheduled by your service | Your manager, inside the reporting line | Feeds into how you are assessed |
| Mentoring or coaching | Career and skill development | Varies | A more experienced peer | Usually informal |
Professional supervision tailored to your needs
Every engagement is safe, trauma-informed, and purpose-built to meet the individual needs of each supervisee.
Professional Supervision
One-on-one professional supervision is our core offering: regular, confidential sessions, typically monthly, with a highly experienced psychologist or therapist who is a trained supervisor. In health and social care it’s often called clinical supervision.
Enquire→Cultural Supervision
A dedicated team providing culturally sensitive professional supervision for First Nations Australians, grounded in respect, safety and cultural understanding.
Enquire→Group Supervision
Group professional supervision for leadership teams and key staff to come together. A facilitated space to reflect, process, and grow together as a team.
Enquire→Critical Incident Debriefing
Immediate, structured support when your service faces a crisis. Tailored debriefing for teams and affected clients, delivered by trauma-informed practitioners.
Learn more→A supervision service built around your people
When you engage Lerni you are not hiring an individual, you are partnering with an entire service built around your workforce's wellbeing.
Trauma-informed practice
All supervision is grounded in trauma-informed approaches, creating psychologically safe spaces for honest, meaningful reflection.
Sector-specific expertise
Our supervisors have worked in your environment. They understand the culture, language and pressures your teams are facing.
Nationwide coverage
From major cities to regional and remote communities, professional supervision is accessible wherever you are in Australia.
A full integrated service
Individual supervision, group sessions, workshops and critical incident debriefing, all through one provider.
In their own words
After we had to make Child Protection reports, the team and I were really impacted. Supervision supported us to feel safe to talk about it in a non-judgmental way. It made it so much easier to carry on without constantly worrying.
At first I thought supervision meant I wasn't coping. Now I tell all my colleagues they need it immediately. My supervisor gets it, gets that I felt I had to put everyone else first.
Without supervision I think I would have left my centre years ago. I look forward to speaking to my supervisor every session. I come away feeling like I can go back and be the director I need and want to be.
I had a meet and greet with my potential supervisor. I had no idea what I should or could talk about. By the end of the chat I realised I could have spoken for hours, and I was finally able to say what I needed to say.
Latest writing on professional supervision
Clinical supervision or professional supervision: what’s the difference?
Two names for the same practice. Becca on what supervision involves, what each sector requires, and how to choose a supervisor.
Read the article →Looking after the NDIS workforce through a time of real uncertainty.
Our Clinical Director, Rebecca Johnson, on the uncertainty facing support coordinators and the wider NDIS workforce, and how supervision helps people keep doing good work through change.
Read the article →Different Centres, Same Story
Directors at completely different organisations, in different states, bring almost the same list to supervision, session after session. Becca on what that list is, and why it matters.
Read the article →Professional supervision, answered
Is professional supervision the same as therapy?
No. Therapy addresses your personal mental health. Supervision is about your practice: the decisions you make at work, the incidents you manage and the professional judgement you apply. A supervisor is an AHPRA-registered psychologist or board-accredited therapist, but the hour is spent on the work rather than on a diagnosis.
Is professional supervision the same as clinical supervision?
Yes, essentially. They’re two names for the same practice. Health, counselling and social work usually say clinical supervision, while early learning and education usually say professional supervision. What clinical supervision involves →
How often should supervision happen?
Monthly is the standard for most services. Teams under sustained pressure, or those working through an incident, often move to fortnightly for a period and step back afterwards.
Who is supervision for in an early learning service?
Most organisations start with Centre Directors and Educational Leaders, because that is where the load concentrates, then extend group supervision to room leaders and educators. See supervision for early learning →
Is it confidential from my employer?
Yes. When an organisation funds supervision, it receives confirmation that sessions occurred and, if requested, de-identified themes across the workforce. It never receives the content of an individual session.
Do you provide supervision in regional and remote areas?
Yes, in every state and territory. Sessions are delivered online where travel is impractical, so a service in a remote town books the same supervisor each month as one in a capital city.
Start a supervision program
Tell us what your service is carrying and we will come back within one business day with a response.
No obligation
A 20 minute call to scope what your team needs.
Matched, not allocated
Supervisors are matched on sector, not availability.