About BTP
About Brighton Therapy Partnership
I’m Shelley, and I’ve spent over 25 years in the therapy profession — first as a counsellor in practice and, since 2010, as the person behind Brighton Therapy Partnership.
BTP exists for one reason: because therapists deserve Continuing Professional Development that actually challenges them. Not box-ticking. Not a certificate for the file. Real, rigorous, human professional development — delivered by expert trainers who are at the top of their field.
If you’ve ever sat in a training day wondering why you bothered, this is the alternative.
How Brighton Therapy Partnership began
The honest version? I started this out of necessity.
It was 2009. I was working in the counselling department of a large organisation — underpaid, in an environment that was, to put it plainly, toxic. I was also trying to build my clinical private practice on the side. Both felt like an uphill struggle, and I was exhausted.
I started organising CPD workshops for counsellors and psychotherapists as a side project — something I could build quietly, on my own terms. The first paid event was in 2010. It was small, and a little chaotic, and I loved every minute of it.
For the next five years, I worked six — sometimes seven — days a week. Building BTP. Growing my private practice. Renting out my consulting room to other therapists on the days I wasn’t using it (which would eventually become The Palmeira Practice, a therapy referral hub I still run today). Doing the numbers over and over, trying to work out when I could finally take the leap.
In 2015, I left my job and went fully self-employed. It remains one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Who am I?
I qualified as a counsellor in 1998, and I’ve been in and around clinical practice ever since, working as a counsellor in the charity sector, working in private practice, and managing counselling services. I’ve also been a qualified clinical supervisor since 2006, and am a Senior Accredited (Column C) member of the BACP.
This background matters — because when I put together CPD for therapists, I’m thinking like a practitioner, not a conference organiser.
I know what it’s like to sit with a client and feel genuinely stuck. I know the particular exhaustion of this work, and the particular privilege of it too. I know what kind of CPD actually helps — and what kind just fills a slot on your CPD log-sheet.
That’s why every trainer I bring in is someone I’d want to learn from myself.
BTP workshop, June 2023, with Victoria Settle (The Bowlby Centre)
What Brighton Therapy Partnership offers
Since 2010, BTP has run CPD workshops and training events for counsellors and psychotherapists across the UK and internationally.
We’ve worked with some of the most respected names in the field — including Professor Divine Charura, Victoria Settle of The Bowlby Centre, Dr Graham Music, and Professor Julia Buckroyd — covering topics from shame, attachment and trauma, to grief and bereavement, disordered eating, body-esteem, working with anxiety, neurodiversity, getting your private practice going, compassion, narcissism, managing breaks in therapy, and so much more.
All our events are now delivered online via Zoom, with 28-day catch-up access included — so you can attend live and watch back or catch up at a time that suits your schedule.
Every event comes with a Certificate of Attendance for your CPD records.
We’re also home to Therapy Education Online (THEO) — a growing video library of past workshops and training content, available for on-demand learning whenever you need it.
Take a look at our upcoming events - there's guaranteed to be something that tickles your fancy!
BTP conference, 2014, with Sir Richard Bowlby
Why therapists keep coming back
We will let a few of our delegates speak for themselves:
“It’s rare to find trauma training of this calibre within the profession.” — Jane S.
“Always amazed at the quality of BTP events — offering new insights, challenging ways of thinking, and all in a very compassionate and inclusive way.” — Toby R.
“I really love your workshops. It’s the only CPD I buy in.”
— Amanda N.
Ready to find your next CPD?
Browse our upcoming workshops and find something that genuinely challenges you.
→ View upcoming CPD events - CLICK HERE FOR OUR EVENTS PAGE
Or sign up to our mailing list for early access to new events and 20% off your first booking.
→ Join the mailing list - CLICK HERE TO GET OUR NEWSLETTER
Why not stay in touch?
Brighton Therapy Partnership are on Facebook and LinkedIn. We'd love to hear from you too, so drop us a message via any of those platforms. If you would like to connect personally with me, Shelley, you can find me on LinkedIn here.
We also run a Facebook community for therapists called The Therapy Partnership. Why not join us and connect in this private group with other therapists across the country! Each month we run a competition to win a free place at one of our CPD events, or a video from our library.
In addition, check out our blog for more information, interviews with a number of our trainers, and some insight and advice for psychotherapists and counsellors.
Get 20% off your first workshop
Join the BTP mailing list and receive a 20% discount code for your first booking — plus early access to new events, blogs & articles, CPD resources, and insights from our expert trainers, straight to your inbox. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.