About me
My name is Shelley Louise Smith (she/her), and I am an MA qualified, Neuroqueer Dramatherapist and well-being workshop leader, and I hold an inclusive, creative space for all. I am both HCPC and BADth registered.
I am passionate about supporting adults to explore their thoughts, feelings and emotions to better understand themselves, grow and stand in their power. I would love to explore our sessions in spaces that align for you. This means I work both indoors and outdoors.
I work in a trauma informed and person-led approach, in that together we will find the right form of expression for you. I hold the individuals voice at the centre of how I work.
So, what is Dramatherapy?
Sometimes in life, talking can feel like it’s just not enough, with words feeling reductive or there simply not being the words for a situation or emotion.
Dramatherapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses different, creative methods alongside talking, to help an individual express themselves both verbally and nonverbally. You do not need to have any experience in the performing arts to engage in this way of working.
Dramatherapy often works within the metaphor, creating distance and space from the feeling or experience, to better understand it and explore it. Sometimes, working in a more distanced approach allows an individual to feel safer when processing past traumas and protects them from re-traumatisation. An example of this might be working with a myth or story to create distance from your trauma, whilst also bringing you more in communication with it.
Getting to know me...
It feels important to share a little about who I am for you to get a better feel as to whether I might be the right therapist for you.
I am passionate about inclusivity and diversity and giving voices to marginalised groups and those who have perhaps felt they were not heard or understood because of their neurodiversity, mental disability, sexuality or gender.
I was late diagnosed ADHD in my 30’s, and I am very passionate about empowering other ADHDers to recognise their strengths, gifts and skills and reclaim parts of themselves they may have shut off to due to rejection sensitivity disorder, emotional dysregulation or impulse control.
Things I love…
Disco freestyle dance, abstract art, coffee and cake, a good book, the full moon, music, theatre, a killer outfit, walking and being in nature.
If you think I might be able to help and support you, please reach out and contact me. I offer a free consultation to discuss the ways in which we might work together.
Let’s start a conversation!
Training, qualifications & experience
Experience:
I am a qualified Dramatherapist with four years’ experience supporting children, young people and adults. I also have 15 years’ experience in community performing arts and wellbeing projects across all age ranges.
I have experience in supporting adults and young people in one-to-one and group Dramatherapy sessions across a variety of different settings including schools, colleges and private health care services. I have experience working with neurodiversity’s and disabilities and have held sessions for wheelchair users and clients with cerebral palsy. Exploring movement and creativity as forms of non-verbal expression.
I currently also support children’s care home teams through psychoeducation, trauma-informed practice, reflective sessions and group consultations through a private care organisation.
Within a theatre setting, I provide therapeutic reflection sessions for mentors who support vulnerable young people in care, offering space to process their experiences and deepen their understanding of the young people they work with.
I also design and facilitate women’s empowerment groups, dramatherapeutic ritual circles and creativity for healing sessions. These sessions have included work for vulnerable women who have experienced domestic violence and involved community outreach organisations and multi-disciplinary teams to bring communities’ together.
I create and deliver yearly lectures on working with neurodiverse clients as a neurodivergent Dramatherapist at the University of Derby. I value the insight and learning of working with the next generation of Dramatherapists.
Qualifications:
I studied Drama at Manchester Metropolitan University and obtained a first-class honours degree. This is where my love for creativity and connecting to the power of Drama first began. I then studied at the University of Derby and gained my MA (Distinction) in Dramatherapy, where I truly discovered my soul path and utilising my passions to help others achieve their goals.
Training:
As part of my continued professional development, I have partaken in various training to enhance my practice, including in areas such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), in which I am Level 2 trained. I have also undertaken training in Makaton Level 1 to enhance my communication skills to enable me to communicate with people who experience complex learning needs or trauma and allow them to express themselves.
I consistently train in safeguarding and a variety of other sessions such as CCE, prevent, county lines, HSB, anxiety, resilience, PACE, blocked care, inclusivity and diversity in the workplace.
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 HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 - £80.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
The fee varies depending on room hire costs for our chosen location.
I offer a limited amount of spaces for a sliding scale system if you are on a low salary or income. Please feel to discuss this with me directly.
Further information
Types of therapy I offer:
ONE TO ONE
I offer 1:1 Dramatherapy for adults, both in person and online.
Sessions typically take place weekly and last one therapeutic hour (50 minutes), although we can discuss other options if these feel more appropriate for you.
Sessions usually have a beginning, middle and end. I will guide you through a check-in, a main reflective activity and an ending, helping us to stay connected to your chosen therapeutic goals.
IN-PERSON
In-person therapy takes place in a welcoming, confidential and safe therapy room within a hired space. The location will be chosen together, considering what feels comfortable and accessible for both of us, and can be discussed before we begin.
In sessions I may offer different creative mediums for expression, and I may also invite you to bring creative tools of your own choosing.
We will use the same space for each session, meeting at the same time and on the same day each week to create consistency and familiarity.
ONLINE
Online sessions can involve thoughtfully chosen digital creative and therapeutic activities, using metaphor, movement and visual expression to explore your experiences. There are many creative ways to work online, and we will find an approach that suits your individual style of expression. Together we will plan a time, day and space within your home or chosen room that feels safe and contained. I will check in with you via review sessions to ensure you feel supported working from this space
OUTDOORS
I am particularly drawn to working in outdoor spaces and connecting with nature as part of the therapeutic process, and so I offer 1:1 therapy outside in nature as well as Dramatherapy walking and talking.
This will always be in carefully considered and mutually chosen spaces that align with your needs. This could be down by a river, deep in a wood or in a meadow. This is something we will decide and plan together.
My vision for my practice is to unite the healing power of nature with creative psychotherapy, combining the things that make us feel free, such as wildlife, with engaging in nature-connectedness through touching, smelling and listening. This allows us to create a safe space to share thoughts, feelings and emotions in a more grounded way.
PLEASE NOTE:
I am currently in the process of relocating to West Yorkshire, where my heart belongs. This means that until October 2026, I can only offer online therapy. Once settled my in-person work will begin to unfold, as will both my groups and workshops.
If you wish to begin online and transition to in person in the West Yorkshire area, this is more than possible, and I’d love to talk this through via a free consultation session.
If you would like to have a free consultation to talk through ways of working together once I have re-located, we can do this anytime.
