Michaela Slade

Professional, considerate and confidential one to one room based somatic psychotherapeutic counselling or Equine assisted psychotherapy. Room based therapy is supported by my therapy dog and friend, Pluto.

To embark on therapy and find a suitable therapist can be very challenging, especially when you might already be in a difficult place and feeling vulnerable.

I aim to help you make the right choice for you so that you might receive the best service, even if it means referring to someone else. 

I am client centred and led by the needs of my clients. My work with you  is centred around inclusion and acceptance. I know from my own experience how it can feel to be excluded and isolated due to differences.

I feel passionate about supporting people to have an authentic experience of feeling, safe, seen, heard and validated, this feels like my central mission in this work.

My work is trauma informed and client led, this helps to provide conditions of safety. I often have people comment on how safe they have felt and how good it has been to be really heard and accepted. This touches me deeply as I really understand the value of this.

I have a number of trainings behind me that support my work, most of them are somatic and trauma based with a focus on working with neurodiversity. I also offer opportunities to work somatically with psychotherapeutic yoga, which involves a choice based gentle practice that can include very gentle movement and breathwork to support the nervous system. I have found this to be very effective and supportive for clients as we are combining all parts of the person and creating a holistic approach to wellbeing and growth.

The equine assisted therapy is another modality which involves opportunities to connect with 5 beautiful equines from a place of authenicity and support. There is no horse experience or handling required to benefit from this. Please see my organisational listing 'The Heard Therapy CIC' for more information or go to the website listed here.

Together, within a safe relationship, we can explore the relationship between the body, the nervous system and your felt sense and how the experience interplays with the world around us. This can help bring understanding to what it is you are feeling and what it might mean to you.

Bringing more attention to the body can help us get to know ourselves in a more authentic way, connecting to our experience and helping us to process trauma and stress responses safely without a need to share difficult stories or painfully sensitive information. 

I am fully present and available to hear you and will help you to process what happened in a supportive and safe way that can prevent retraumatisation, whilst validating your experience. 

I believe that people require more than a therapeutic approach or theory, and that the presence of a safe other, who is connected, supportive and non judgemental can provide optimum conditions to experience a different yet authentic way of being that is true and honourable to yourself.

The fundamental elements of presence, authenticity and safety are to me the most important part of the relationship, from this place we can begin to introduce different experiential ways of working that can include somatic therapies.

What is somatic therapy?

Somatic therapy works with what is happening in the body in the moment. Unprocessed trauma memory is stored in the body, and keeps showing up as it wants to complete its trauma process.  By working with the here and now experience in the body we can safely help you complete stuck trauma responses, helping you, over time to reach a sense of safety and equilibrium which is the desired internal state. Working this way involves building resources and safe connections, either with myself, others or with the horses and nature if we are doing equine assisted therapy.

I offer a supportive and welcoming professional service based on 25 years of experience working with people in a helping role including:

Care of older people

Palliative care

Care in the community

Support work for young homeless people

Youth worker

Volunteering at the night shelter for the homeless.

and 13 years as a professional counsellor

I have worked with people of all ages and respect and value the individuality of each person I work with.

It's your journey and it would be an honour and a privilege to walk some of the way with you.

I have trained with:

• Bristol University and Sweet Track CPCAB level 5 in psychospritual counselling 
• LEAP Equine assisted psychotherapy,
• EQUUSOMA trauma informed equine interventions,
• Aspire Autism Consultancy training
• Understanding ADHD
• How to assess pre diagnostic assessments
• Mindfulness based stress reduction
• Mindfulness based Compassionate living,
• Working with complex trauma
• Polyvagal theory
• Working with gender identity 
• The neurobiology of autism and ADHD 
• Working with dissociation 
• Attachment theory
• Trauma informed yoga
• NCFED Eating disorders therapy,
• level 3 Youth Work Diploma,
• Somatic Trauma Therapy Training with Babette Rothschild,
• Eco therapy training, 
• Kundalini yoga teacher training
• Currently a Somatic Experiencing student

I work with clients aged 11 plus, including adults.

OTHER SERVICES:

Pre-diagnostic autism and ADHD assessments 

Eating Disorder therapy program 

Autism and ADHD focussed support, room based, equine or outdoor therapy

School avoidance support, room based or equine assisted psychotherapy 

 ***SINGLE SESSION*** therapy and THERAPY INTENSIVES

I recognise that it takes a lot of consideration and courage to approach the idea of therapy and contact a counsellor.  The current high demand means that people are facing high waiting times whilst managing high risk and high need conditions and situations.

I can offer a single extended session which will enable you to make contact with some support and provide you with a stepping stone into a better future and provide a safety net for those who are high risk.

The sessions will involve

*risk assessment and management

*sign posting where necessary

*immediate intervention and coping strategies

*future planning and goal setting

*space to be seen, heard, valued and understood.

THERAPEUTIC RETREATS 

These are held with the horses, within the beautiful Somerset countryside and can involve meditation and connection programmes, Kundalini yoga, Reiki, Mindfulness, Nature connection and Equine therapy. The retreats are designed to meet your individual needs and can be held for one, or two days. Please contact me for more information

Thank you for reading 

Autism and neurodiversity and trauma, as seperate issues, or autistic/neurodiverse people who have been affected by trauma, or who have found their diagnosis and life experience traumatic as a result.

I also am very passionate about working with minority/diverse groups.

There is a sliding scale fee for talking therapy. Prices are agreed together according to income bracket and affordability from £35 to £60 per session.

Equine assisted therapy is also offered on a sliding scale according to affordability the fee starts at £40 to £80 for one hour and £80 to £125 for one and a half hours.

Sessions can also be offered on a fortnightly basis to help manage costs.

Single session therapy is a two hour session charged at £120. Deposit required on booking, payment plans by agreement, but session must be paid in full by session date

***session fees are agreed according to income bracket and affordability to make the therapy accessible to all who need to access the service ***

Equine Assisted Psychotherapy can be used as single sessions or as a full programme. 

I honour and value people and am gifted in being able to empathise. I am honest and transparent and accept individuals with a nonjudgemental attitude.
I work creatively to adapt to each individual client; recognising potential, goals and aspiration even in the darkest corners of life, to reconnect people with life and themselves.