About Zohar Berchik
Clinical depth.
Educational experience.
I’m a Melbourne-based counsellor, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and educator. My work spans individual psychotherapy, the development of practitioners and the education of the profession.
Professional grounding
Experience held
with curiosity.
My professional formation includes postgraduate counselling study at La Trobe University, advanced psychotherapy training at Cairnmillar, advanced Voice Dialogue facilitation training and clinical supervision training. I continue to value the conversation between established knowledge, clinical experience and what a particular person or group brings. Professional experience matters most when it helps us listen more carefully and make more considered decisions.
Clinical practice
An interest in
the life beneath
the explanation.
I am interested in the relationship between what we know about ourselves and how we actually experience life. Often, important aspects of that experience sit outside a well-practised account of who we are. They may become clearer through emotion, through a moment of hesitation, or through what happens in a relationship.
My foundations are person-centred, humanistic, experiential and relational. I understand people through their lived experience, their relationships and the wider systems in which they live and work. This includes attention to what is consciously known and to patterns that may operate outside awareness.
Psychodynamic and systemic perspectives are significantly integrated into this orientation. Emotion-Focused Therapy supports a close engagement with emotional process, while Voice Dialogue informs my understanding of internal multiplicity: the different parts of ourselves, their relationships and the ways they shape our responses to others. These perspectives belong within a shared humanistic and relational philosophy, informing how I listen, understand and respond.
I value authenticity, curiosity and emotional honesty. In practice, this means listening closely, being willing to question an assumption, and allowing enough room for an understanding to emerge without rushing to resolve uncertainty.
Education & leadership
Teaching the work.
Developing the conditions
for learning it.
Alongside clinical practice, I have spent many years teaching and mentoring developing counsellors and psychotherapists. My background includes senior university lecturing, course direction, academic program leadership, curriculum design and writing, and the facilitation of experiential groups.
My educational work has included roles at Cairnmillar Institute, the University of New England, ACAP and Deakin University. Across these settings, my interest has remained in how practitioners develop the capacity to engage with emotional and relational complexity.
I have contributed to program development, professional accreditation work and educational quality, as well as professional advisory roles. Teaching excellence awards and published research form part of this broader contribution to counselling and psychotherapy education. I co-authored a peer-reviewed study of Voice Dialogue therapy (2016), published in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.
These experiences inform my consulting work with institutions and my supervision of practitioners. They have also reinforced my view that professional development involves both sound knowledge and an ongoing willingness to encounter oneself in the work.
Group work & facilitation
Attending to the person.
Understanding the group.
Group work is a substantial area of my professional expertise. I facilitate experiential therapeutic groups, reflective practice groups, clinical group supervision, professional development and facilitated learning experiences.
I am interested in the interplay between inner life and group life: how personal histories enter a shared setting, how roles and relationships develop, and how a group can illuminate familiar ways of being with others. I also attend to the wider systems and expectations that influence what can be said, felt or explored.
This work draws together clinical understanding, educational judgement and an ability to engage with complex interpersonal processes. It connects my psychotherapy, supervision and teaching, while respecting the different purposes and responsibilities of each setting.
One connected practice
The relationship
between the different
parts of my work.
Psychotherapy, supervision and education involve different responsibilities, but each asks us to attend carefully to experience. Clinical practice keeps my teaching connected to the realities of therapeutic work. Teaching and supervision invite continual reflection on how that work is understood, communicated and developed.
My established clinical practice, Equilibrium Counselling & Psychotherapy, continues within this wider professional identity. My association with the Australian Centre for Voice Dialogue reflects a longstanding strand of experiential facilitation and training.
Today, these areas sit together under my name, allowing space for individual clinical work, thoughtful practitioner development and specialist contributions to education in Australia and internationally.
Professional grounding
Experience held
with curiosity.
My professional formation includes postgraduate counselling study at La Trobe University, advanced psychotherapy training at Cairnmillar, advanced Voice Dialogue facilitation training and clinical supervision training.
I continue to value the conversation between established knowledge, clinical experience and what a particular person or group brings. Professional experience matters most when it helps us listen more carefully and make more considered decisions.
Philosophical foundations
Practice and learning.
A continuing inquiry.
Read my personal philosophy of practice, exploring the person-centred, humanistic, relational, dialectical and experiential foundations of my work.
Philosophical foundations