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Helping You Find Your Way
Stephanie Shortland Counselling
Do you feel that you have lost your way, reached a low point in your life or are you feeling overwhelmed?
Maybe you are struggling with a relationship, bereavement or other life changing circumstance?
Is your past adversely affecting your life, causing a cloud to hang over your future?
Do you feel like you are in a rut and cannot see a way forward?
Speaking confidentially to someone outside of your own personal situation can help you to find the answers and confidence you need to move forward.
Counselling can help bring perspective and hope to even the darkest of days.
Learn More About Me
My name is Stephanie Shortland
I offer Person-centred integrative counselling in and around the Street, BA16, area to people aged 18 or over.
As a Person-centred integrative counsellor I am committed to offering clients a space in which they feel safe and able to work towards a deeper understanding of themselves, can resolve their issues and move forward to a more fulfilled life.
I have a Christian faith and as such believe each individual person to be wonderfully unique and complex. I am comfortable with and have experience of working with clients of a similar faith background to my own and
also with those holding completely different beliefs, or none.
I am an Accredited Registrant of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (MNCPS Accred) and also a
Registered member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Reg)
and work in accordance with their Ethical Frameworks for Good Practice.
I am trained in the delivery of the Rewind Technique (RT), developed by Dr. David Muss for the
treatment of trauma (www.iartt.com).
I am also on Accredited Registers (NCPS + BACP) that have been accredited by
the Professional Standards Authority.
I hold Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance.
Relevant qualifications:
Level 5 Diploma in Counselling – Network Counselling and Training
Certificate in Counselling Skills - University of Gloucestershire
Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling - Counselling Tutor
Certified Rewind Practitioner - International Association for Rewind Trauma Therapy (IARTT)
Diploma in Supervision - Center for Supervision Training and Development, Bath (CSTD)
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My Counselling Room
I practice in Street, Somerset and my counselling room can be found within easy walking distance of the town centre.
I have an off-road parking space and there is also unrestricted on-road parking available.
There are also 3 bus stops within a five minute walk for those using public transport.
The room is accessed directly from the outside and as there is one step unfortunately it is not wheelchair accessible.
I generally work face-to-face in person, and in order to safeguard my clients and minimise social contact at times of increased risk due to illnesses from Flu, Coronavirus or other viral infection, I also offer online virtual counselling via the Zoom virtual meeting platform. For those who do not have an internet connection, as an alternative, I can offer telephone counselling.
I continually monitor situations that may pose a risk to the health of my clients and my blended approach to therapy (Face-to-face, online and telephone) ensures that my clients are safeguarded, whilst continuing to receive the support they need .
About Counselling &
How I work
The counselling I offer is Person-centred and Integrative.
What does this mean?
Person-centred counselling values the autonomy of the individual and allows for the creation of the unique client-counsellor relationship within which every part of a person is welcome. Person-centred philosophy advocates that each individual has the internal resources towards growth and fulfillment and my purpose is to support clients to discover those resources.
I view people as wonderfully complex beings comprising of body, mind, soul and spirit in which all aspects of experiencing are closely interwoven, and that personal experiences gained through social, physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual encounters can impact either positively or negatively upon an individual. I consider that the causes of psychological or emotional problems are not simple and can involve a range of these factors.
Working as a person-centred integrative counsellor gives me the flexibility to draw from a range of different approaches and theories, allowing me to offer my clients a service tailored to their needs, whatever they may be.
One of the approaches I offer is the Rewind Technique (RT), developed by Dr. David Muss (www.iartt.com). RT is a trauma therapy which offers a way of permanently stopping the involuntary recall (flashback) of a traumatic event by 'filing' it in a different part of the brain. Voluntary recall remains, as it does with any previous experience or memory, the difference being that post RT clients are able to choose if they want to recall the information or not.
Through counselling I am able to offer my clients a safe, supportive and empathetic space in which they are able to explore and move forward from their difficult experiences. I may also bring gentle challenges which enable the client to think more deeply and learn to trust their own internal resources to find solutions to problems and a positive way forward. That said, all my counselling interventions are undertaken at the clients own pace.
The Counselling Agreement
I offer a free, no obligation, 30 minute first consultation which gives clients the opportunity to talk about their needs, find out more about the counselling process and decide if I am the right person to walk alongside them during this particular stage of their life-journey.
Counselling works best if clients commit to a regular weekly session, the counselling agreement is then periodically reviewed as and when either I or the client feel it necessary.
I offer my clients a confidential space where they can feel safe to say whatever they need to and find the courage to speak the unspeakable, without fear of judgement or condemnation.
To reinforce the space as safe and confidential during the initial session a contractual agreement is made outlining the terms of the counselling, including confidentiality and fees. This client-counsellor discussion is called contracting. The contract then helps to create safe boundaries wherein deep and sometimes emotionally tender work can be gently done.
24 hours’ notice of a cancellation must be given to avoid paying for the cancelled session.
Contact Me
Want to know more about how counselling can help you? Contact me to arrange a free
30 minute introductory session.
Fees
I offer a free 30 minute, no obligation first consultation which gives clients the time to talk about their needs, find out more about the counselling process and decide if I am the right person to walk alongside them during this particular stage of their life-journey.
Thereafter sessions are £40 for 50 minutes duration; I also offer concessions for students and those on a low income.
Sessions last for 50 minutes with payment due at the beginning of the session.
For those engaged in online, or telephone counselling, fees must be received via online bank transfer prior to the appointment time.
If 24 hours’, or more, notice of cancellation is given there will be no charge for that session.
Payments are accepted via online bank transfer, cheque or cash.