When you're stuck, you don't always need someone to give you the answer. Sometimes you need someone who can help you find it.

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You have an idea. A project. A question you can't quite articulate. Perhaps a mind map that looks more like Spaghetti Junction, with connections everywhere but no clear way forward. You might have ideas and images in your mind for days, sensing that there is something there, but not yet knowing what that something is. You cannot quite see how the pieces fit together, what matters most, or where to begin.

 

This is where we can work together

Creative Research Supervision offers a space for thinking aloud, exploring possibilities and making sense of what has not yet taken shape. Through active listening, critical dialogue, questioning, brainstorming and creative approaches to problem-solving, I help you untangle complex ideas, recognise unexpected connections and discover new ways forward. I bring together experience in interdisciplinary research, fine art, philosophy, phenomenology, psychotherapy and clinical supervision, alongside experience supporting postgraduate students. My approach draws on different ways of thinking and working, but the process always begins with you: your questions, your ideas, your difficulties and your sense of what you are trying to achieve.

The purpose is not to impose a solution or tell you what to think [thanks, Socrates!]. It is to create the conditions in which your own thinking can develop, connections can emerge, and a possible way forward can become clearer.

 

A space to think differently

Research and creative projects rarely develop in a straight line. Ideas emerge, collide, change direction and sometimes lead somewhere we could not have anticipated. Yet the formal structures of academic research do not always provide sufficient space for exploratory thinking, interdisciplinary connections or the uncertain stages of developing an original idea.

 

Creative Research Supervision offers a space for precisely this kind of intellectual exploration. These are one-to-one sessions for postgraduate researchers, independent scholars and creative practitioners who want to think more expansively about their work, challenge their assumptions, explore unfamiliar perspectives and develop ideas that have not yet found their final shape.     Sometimes you need to challenge an assumption. Sometimes you need to look at a familiar problem from an entirely different angle. Sometimes you need the freedom to explore an idea that is not yet ready for formal scrutiny. At other times, you need to rediscover your interest in a project, find inspiration, or reconnect with the reasons you began in the first place.   And sometimes you simply need another person who can stay with the complexity long enough for something to begin making sense.

The emphasis is not on providing ready-made answers, but on opening up possibilities. Through critical dialogue, lateral thinking and collaborative inquiry, we can examine the questions that drive your work, identify connections you may not have considered, and explore what might happen if you approached a problem from a different direction.

 

A protected space for unfinished thinking

An idea sometimes needs room to breathe before it can be presented, defended or translated into the language of a formal academic argument.

You may have an intuition you cannot yet articulate, a connection that seems improbable, a question that feels too unconventional to raise in a supervisory meeting, or a project whose direction you are struggling to clarify. These are not necessarily obstacles to be removed. They can be the beginnings of new thinking.

Our sessions provide a non-judgmental but intellectually rigorous space in which to explore such possibilities. We can follow an idea, question its foundations, test its implications, make unexpected connections and consider alternative ways of understanding a problem.   This is not about accepting every idea uncritically. It is about allowing ideas to emerge before deciding what they can withstand, and developing the discernment to recognise which possibilities are worth pursuing.   The aim is to help you develop greater clarity, confidence and independence in your thinking, while remaining attentive to the intellectual and practical demands of your work.

 

What we can work on

Sessions can support you at different stages of a research or creative project, including:

• Developing and refining research questions, concepts and arguments.

• Exploring interdisciplinary connections and alternative theoretical perspectives.

• Identifying assumptions, blind spots and unexplored possibilities.

• Working through conceptual difficulties, intellectual impasses and creative blocks.

• Developing original ideas and finding ways to articulate them.

• Thinking critically and laterally about complex problems.

• Connecting exploratory thinking with the structure, requirements and deadlines of your project.

• Maintaining intellectual momentum, focus and a sense of direction throughout a demanding period of work.

• Reconnecting with your curiosity, motivation and the questions that make your work meaningful to you.

You do not need to arrive with a clearly defined problem or a polished argument. Sometimes the most productive starting point is simply an idea you cannot stop thinking about.

 

Working across disciplines

My approach is grounded in philosophical inquiry, phenomenology, existential thought, Jungian perspectives and interdisciplinary research. I am particularly interested in how we think, how we form concepts, how assumptions shape what we can see, and how new possibilities emerge when familiar questions are approached differently.

 

My background in fine art and creative practice also informs my approach to research: not every difficulty can be resolved by applying an existing framework, and not every insight begins as a fully articulated argument. Sometimes we need to approach a question indirectly, work with images or associations, follow an unexpected connection, or allow a different kind of understanding to emerge.

You do not need to work within these fields to benefit from the sessions. The focus is on the development of your thinking and the questions arising from your own work. We can explore connections across disciplines without confusing this process with specialist subject supervision.

 

How the sessions work

Each session is shaped around your questions, interests and current stage of work. We might examine a specific conceptual difficulty, explore a promising but undeveloped idea, discuss a theoretical framework, or use sustained dialogue to uncover new directions for a project.

 

I will listen carefully, ask questions, challenge assumptions, offer alternative perspectives and help you examine the implications of your ideas. We might map a problem, follow a line of thought, identify connections between apparently unrelated concepts, or work towards a clearer formulation of a question you have been struggling to express.

The process combines intellectual freedom with critical engagement. It is collaborative without taking the work out of your hands. You remain the author of your ideas and responsible for the decisions you make about your research.

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Imagine you are on a sailing boat, lost at sea, with no wind.

Sometimes what you need is not somebody to take the helm,

but another pair of eyes to help you recognise the currents,

see the possibilities around you and find a direction in which you can begin to move.

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The aim is to help you move from the tangle to the insight,

from the impasse to the possibility,

and from an idea you can almost see

to one you can begin to work with.

 

 

From insight to action

Intellectual discovery matters, but so does what happens afterwards.

Our conversations can help you move from an intuition you cannot quite articulate towards a question you can investigate, an argument you can develop, a project you can reshape, or a next step you can put in your diary.   The aim is not simply to produce a more manageable research plan. It is to help you develop a clearer understanding of what you are trying to do, why it matters to you, and which direction you genuinely want to pursue.   Good intellectual work requires more than ideas. It requires the confidence to recognise your own direction, the discernment to examine it critically, and the commitment to carry it forward.   At its heart, Creative Research Supervision is a space for intellectual discovery and individual realisation: an opportunity to explore what your work might become, identify what is genuinely worth pursuing, and find the clarity and confidence to take it forward.

 

An independent space alongside your research

Creative Research Supervision is an independent, supplementary service. It does not replace formal university supervision, discipline-specific expertise or institutional academic guidance. Nor is it a proofreading, editing or thesis-writing service.  Instead, it offers an additional space in which to develop your intellectual work: one that can complement your existing supervision by allowing more time for exploratory dialogue, interdisciplinary thinking and the development of original ideas. 

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Sessions are available online. In-person meetings may be possible by arrangement for those living locally.

 

Get in touch

If you are looking for a space in which to think more freely, question more deeply and discover where your ideas might lead, Creative Research Supervision offers an opportunity to work through the questions that matter to you and develop your thinking on your own terms.

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To enquire about sessions, availability and fees, please get in touch!

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Matilde Gliubich Tomat

info@matildetomat.com

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About my approach

My work brings together interdisciplinary research, creative practice, philosophical inquiry and many years of experience supporting people in their intellectual and professional development. Across these different fields, I have maintained a sustained interest in how we think, how we construct knowledge, and what becomes possible when we question familiar assumptions and approach a problem from another direction.

My academic background spans scientific education, fine art and practice-led research. I hold a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, a BA in Fine Art, for which I received an award for my dissertation, and an MRes in practice-led research. I am currently in the writing phase of my PhD thesis at Bangor University and am the founder of Paleophenomenology, an interdisciplinary approach I have developed to explore the emergence of consciousness and meaning-making in early humans.

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Alongside my academic and artistic practice, I have been a practising psychotherapist since 2014. I hold a Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy and a Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Clinical Supervision. These experiences have shaped my capacity for attentive listening, critical reflection and working collaboratively with complexity, uncertainty and questions that do not necessarily have straightforward answers.

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Since 2018, I have also worked as a non-medical specialist mentor supporting university students, primarily at postgraduate level. My work encompasses both the practical and intellectual dimensions of research, from organisation, prioritisation, goal-setting and accountability to brainstorming, planning and developing strategies for moving a project forward. I also support students in navigating the emotional vulnerabilities of academic work, difficult relationships within academia, questions of work-life balance and periods when progress feels uncertain or stalled. This experience has given me a deep appreciation of research not simply as an intellectual undertaking, but as a sustained human process requiring critical engagement, practical support and the capacity to work through uncertainty.

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My wider professional experience includes designing and delivering workshops, lectures and presentations, as well as teaching in a variety of educational settings. Earlier in my career, I worked in marketing and coaching in Italy, exploring the concept of LovemarksTM and the relationships between identity, meaning and human connection. These varied experiences have contributed to my interest in how people communicate, learn, make connections and develop new ways of understanding their work and the world around them.

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I am bilingual in Italian and English, and moving between languages continually draws my attention to the ways language shapes perception, thought and meaning. Different words carry different nuances, associations and possibilities; sometimes, approaching an idea through another language can reveal something that was previously difficult to articulate. This sensitivity to perspective, together with my experience across different disciplines, informs my approach to intellectual exploration and collaborative inquiry.

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What connects these strands of my work is a commitment to thinking beyond established boundaries, recognising connections between apparently unrelated ideas, and creating the conditions in which new understanding can emerge. I bring this perspective to Creative Research Supervision, offering an intellectually engaged and supportive space in which researchers and creative practitioners can explore unfinished ideas, question assumptions, develop original connections and take their thinking further.