Shirley Brocklehurst
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I work with adults who have long standing or deep rooted emotional difficulties which affect their ability to fully enjoy life. This may be a reaction to past trauma or bereavement, and can result in anxiety, depression, addiction and sometimes medically unexplained symptoms such as physical pain or discomfort.
Are you experiencing anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem? Perhaps you have known loss due bereavement, a change in health, or the ending of a relationship. Major life changes can leave you feeling lost, stuck, confused, and overwhelmed ?All these and more are held in the body.
I work somatically, which means accessing and enhancing the connection between mind and body. It is an aspect that’s often overlooked, but the body holds meaningful insights into our story and helps us to re-frame the way we look at things.
I use a range of modalities including embodied, somatic (body) experiential, person-centred, creative and humanistic approaches. I have a deep understanding of the embodied aspects of psyche and soma, but sessions are not necessarily solemn – there can be fun and laughter. Creativity and playfulness can help to explore difficult themes and bring insight.
I can work alongside you through the mental/emotional results of difficult life experiences. In a safe, confidential and non-judgmental healing relationship together we will explore and discover your pathways to healing and wellbeing.
In addition to working one to one, I also hold therapy groups. These are purposely kept small (maximum 6 participants).
Deeply Moving
This is a Dance Movement Psychotherapy group for adults wishing to explore thoughts and feelings in psychotherapy. Creative and mindful movement is a way of processing emotions and unsticking patterns held in the mind and body.
The session is guided, but the movement will come from the participants. Sometimes we'll use music and at others we may not. Discussion and sharing may happen, but only by choice. Participation is always by invitation rather than expectation.
While many welcome the opportunity to engage in movement and creativity, the prospect can also create apprehension. In this group all felt experiences are welcome and useful. Participants are supported to explore their inner world with curiosity and compassion. Admittedly the thought of opening up in a group can be anxiety-provoking for some. Please rest assured that what you bring to the group will be entirely your choice. You may choose to explore the past, experiment with new ways of being, or take some space to simply be You will be under no pressure to do or say or share anything that you are not comfortable with. You will be welcomed as you are and encouraged to go at your own pace. Working through issues in a group can help reduce feelings of isolation. Making authentic connections brings growth and healing.
Join me in this small group (maximum six members) with others who are also on a journey of personal development and healing.
Monthly in person sessions and online in the intervening weeks.
Tuesday evenings 6.30-8.00pm
£20 per session, £60 for a block of 4.
About Dance Movement Psychotherapy
Dance Movement Psychotherapy is a clinical practice where participants work at emotional depth. It involves a clinical framework and creative process. This is not a technique class, but body movement is recognised as an instrument of communication and expression. DMP is a relational process in which clients and therapist engage creatively using body movement and dance, as well as verbal and non-verbal reflection. There is no choreography to learn and no teaching of movements. The therapist guides participants to explore their own movement vocabulary.
Training, qualifications & experience
I graduated from Canterbury Christ Church University in 2013 with a Masters Degree in Dance Movement Psychotherapy.
Since I began my psychotherapy training in 2009 I have been involved with charity, community and public sector organisations. I have worked alongside groups and individuals from all walks of life, of all ages and with varying cognitive and physical abilities.
In 2012 I began working with clients experiencing the negative symptoms of Schizophrenia, and then continued this work in secure residential settings. Since then I’ve worked in schools, the NHS, local authority, further education and community organisations. I am currently a therapist and trainer with the Arts for the Blues collaboration with Edge Hill and Salford Universities.
As a therapist with decades of experience in movement and well-being, I have been offering private Psychotherapy and Dance Movement Psychotherapy since 2015, both one to one and group. In private practice I work mostly with bereavement, depression, anxiety and trauma particularly older adults with longstanding childhood trauma and the difficulties this presents in later life. Since 2019, I have expanded my private practice to working with people online.
My clients include people who are experiencing the affects of bereavement, depression, abuse, addiction and emotional difficulties, as well as conditions such as Dementia, Autism, Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar Disorder. I also work with clients seeking personal growth self-exploration or self-understanding
I am one of a team of therapists delivering and supporting research projects for Edge Hill University's Research in Arts and Wellbeing faculty. In this capacity I am currently involved with Arts for Blues - creative arts therapies for anxiety and depression- both as a therapist and as a trainer. Also for Edge Hill, I facilitated Dancing with Health - Dance Movement Psychotherapy for survivors of breast cancer - as well as DMP groups in primary schools. I have also worked with Queen Mary University in London as therapist on the NESS project - body oriented therapy for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. My community work includes freelancing for Age UK and Cheshire Dance, as well as delivering sessions for Parkinson's UK, and I am linked to the NHS Social Prescription Services for Nantwich & Rural.
Other organisations I have worked with include Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Mersey Care NHS Trust as well as the Centre for Psychiatry, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Queen Mary University, London.
Member organisations
ADMP UK is the professional organisation for the profession for Dance Movement Psychotherapy in the United Kingdom.
They aim to support the development of DMP in the UK and internationally; foster communication among Dance Movement Psychotherapists (DMPs); and promote the use of DMP throughout the United Kingdom and abroad.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Upcoming events
Fees
£45.00 per session