If you’ve ever sat in your car for an extra five minutes after a session, replaying a specific sentence you said or wondering if you missed a subtle shift in a client’s expression, please know you are in very good company. In our supervision groups the fear of “doing harm” is perhaps the most consistent heartbeat we hear. Whether you are brand new to the field or have been sitting in the clinician’s chair for a decade, that niggling worry—Did I miss a red flag? Did I just trigger their trauma? Am I enough to hold this?—is a sign of how deeply you care, but it can also be an incredibly heavy weight to carry alone.
The truth we often forget in the heat of a complex case is that medical and physical safety is never a solo performance. It’s easy to feel like the entire weight of a client’s stability rests on your shoulders, but clinical safety is a shared responsibility. We are part of a web that includes GPs, psychologists, and the broader healthcare system. When we find ourselves spiralling into “what ifs,” it’s often a signal to lean back into that team, to reach out for a secondary consultation, and to remember that you are a piece of the puzzle, not the whole picture. You don’t have to hold the “life and death” stakes in isolation.
We also need to have a very honest conversation about the “wrong” thing. Here’s the reality: you will say things that don’t land well. You will miss nuances, and there will be moments of misattunement. But, we believe that the magic isn’t in being a perfect, clinical robot; it’s in the relational repair. Harm is mitigated when we have the courage to notice a rupture, own our clunky phrasing, apologize, and re-check our understanding. Often, a client seeing you navigate a mistake with humility and care is more healing than a thousand “perfect” sessions. It models that relationships can survive imperfection, which is a vital lesson in recovery.
Finally, we have to find a way to make peace with the inevitable. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, our deep research, and our most compassionate intentions, harm may occur unintentionally. Some clients will disengage, some will struggle to connect, and others will experience relapse. It is so important to hear this: a client’s struggle is not a reflection of your professional failure. Recovery is a non-linear, deeply personal journey influenced by a thousand factors outside of your consulting room. Our job isn’t to guarantee a specific outcome, but to show up, stay curious, and offer a safe harbor. You are allowed to be a human being while you do this work—imperfect, learning, and deeply valuable exactly as you are.
This blog post validates the heavy professional pressure eating disorder clinicians face when navigating complex clinical uncertainties, offering comfort and reassurance that sitting with the “grey” and sharing the weight of care is an essential, normal part of the therapeutic journey.
We’re Jo and Christie—Accredited Practising Dietitians and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinicians with a shared passion for disordered eating, eating disorders and body image work.
Our resources are developed alongside people with lived experience and designed for health professionals who want to deliver high-quality, client-centred care.