Michaela Slade
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
Compassionate Counselling & Supervision
Are You Looking for Authentic Support on Your Journey?
I provide professional counselling which is rooted in genuine compassion and connection. Whether you’re facing life’s storms or seeking reflection and gentle challenge, I offer the stability and resilience as I walk alongside you, witnessing your journey with out judgement, every step of the way, until you’re ready to move forward on your own path.
Flexible Therapeutic Options
· Comfortable sessions in our yurt or online (with optional canine company—meet Pluto!)
· Outdoor therapy, immersed in the healing power of nature
· Relational work with horses for a unique connection
· Combinations of the above, all from our peaceful rural setting just outside Ilminster
Please note I work with young people aged 11 plus and adults
Inclusive and Individualised Practice
I specialise in working with anyone who feels excluded or marginalised, with a passion for nurturing belonging, acceptance, and self-worth. I proudly work with neurodivergent clients—understanding your perspective from lived experience, as I am also neurodivergent. I am also a LGBTQ+ ally and have experience of working with people who are transitioning into their true gender.
Trauma-Informed and Somatic Work
With both personal and professional expertise in trauma and post-traumatic growth, I offer gentle yet powerful support. As a Somatic Experiencing student and a practitioner trained in Somatic Trauma Therapy, I help you process trauma through your body and nervous system—no need to retell or relive difficult stories if you don’t want to.
I am experienced and trained in working with childhood abuse, C-PTSD attachment difficulties and eating difficulties. This can be long term work to ensure that the safety and trust of a strong therapeutic relationship has been developed.
Person-Centred and Energy Psychotherapy
My approach celebrates your unique value and presence. I deeply respect your individuality and consider it a privilege to walk beside you on part of your life’s journey. I uphold strong core values that underpin my work, these are grounded in acceptance, non judgement and authenticity, these values provide the conditions within which growth and learning can occur.
Therapy for Young People & Adults
I am a qualified and experienced youth worker and have been providing therapy for young people for 15 years. I work with young people (aged 11+) and adults, offering a range of settings to suit your needs—room-based, outdoors, or with horses.
Alternative therapies
I am also a Reiki Practitioner and a Kundalini Yoga teacher, I can, if appropriate, combine elements of these holistic practices with somatic psychotherapy.
Supervision for Professionals
Are you a new or established counsellor, or an equine or outdoor therapist? I offer supportive, empathic supervision grounded in BACP and NCPS ethical principles. Together, we’ll nurture your growth and your clients’, blending gentle challenge with affirmation of your unique talents, training, and qualities.
I also offer supervision for holistic therapists.
If you’re ready to explore compassionate therapy or supervision in Isle Abbots, contact me today to begin your journey.
Training, qualifications & experience
With 25 years of experience supporting both young people aged 11 plus, and adults, I bring a deeply compassionate, trauma-informed, and holistically grounded approach to therapeutic work. My practice is shaped by a long-standing commitment to helping individuals navigate challenges, reconnect with themselves, and move toward emotional, psychological, and embodied wellbeing.
I am a Level 5 CPCAB-qualified Psycho-Spiritual Counsellor and Psychotherapist and an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society. Alongside traditional counselling and psychotherapy training, I am a LEAP-qualified Equine Assisted Psychotherapist, a Diploma level 3 qualified youth worker, and a trained practitioner of rewilding and eco-psychology principles. My work is informed by a strong belief in the healing potential of nature, the body, and the therapeutic relationship.
I have completed extensive specialist training, including the National Centre for Eating Disorders Practitioner training, Babette Rothschild’s Somatic Trauma Therapy Training, and ongoing certification as both a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and an EQUUSOMA® trauma-informed equine-facilitated practitioner.
I have most recently qualified as a level 7 NCIP clinical Supervisor with Kathy Raffles Training.
My background also includes training as a Kundalini Yoga Teacher and Reiki practitioner, allowing me to integrate somatic, energetic, and mindfulness-based tools into sessions when appropriate.
My continuous professional development reflects a commitment to inclusivity, embodiment, and evidence-informed practice, with additional training in:
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living
Polyvagal Theory
Autism and ADHD awareness
OCD support approaches
Group Therapy
LGBTQ+ affirmative practice
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Social justice perspectives within mental health
My therapeutic lens is enriched by ongoing study in areas such as attachment trauma, Internal Family Systems, somatic therapy, chakra psychology, and energy psychology.
Overall, I offer a supportive, grounded, and integrative space for clients to explore their inner world, heal trauma, and rediscover wholeness — drawing on a unique blend of psychotherapeutic, somatic, eco-psychological, and equine-facilitated approaches.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society This Not For Profit association of counsellors and psychotherapists aim to support the counselling profession, members and training organisations. In 2013 the NCS register was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority under the Accredited Voluntary Register Scheme. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£65.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Limited concession spaces available.
Currently no concession spaces available.
When I work
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Further information
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.
