Cheltenham's Counselling CentreAbout Shelley
I'm Shelley Alcock, and I've been running Cheltenham's Counselling Centre for five years. Counselling is the second half of my career, not the whole of it, and that's what makes the way I work different.
Years with children, long before the qualification
My career didn't start in a counselling room. It started in a nursery, where I worked my way up to nursery manager, learning what actually helps a small child feel steady day to day.
From there I moved into social care, working with children and families.
Then into schools, in SEN and pastoral roles, SEN meaning special educational needs.
By the time I trained and qualified as a counsellor, six years ago, I had already spent a career learning how children think, what they hide, and what actually reaches them. It still shows up now: ask a child to describe a wall that keeps unkind words out, and one tells you it's jelly, so the words slide straight down, another says brick, so the words bounce off like tennis balls, another says thorn bushes, so the words can't get close at all.
I ran my own practice alongside five years at TIC+, the Gloucestershire youth mental health charity, until that role ended in June 2025. Two caseloads at once, for five years: my own clients, and a charity caseload of young people across the county. Cheltenham's Counselling Centre is what's still standing now that chapter has closed, built on everything that came before it.
How I work
I don't work from a script. Every session starts with what's actually going on for you, or for your child, not a fixed programme I run everyone through. Some sessions are conversation. Others use drawing, cards, or something more hands-on, especially with children, because a child will often show you something they can't yet say.
I see clients face to face at my practice rooms, as well as by phone and online. Wherever we meet, the approach stays the same: paced around you, not around me.
Qualifications, memberships and checks
BACP Accreditation
I'm Accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP for short: a higher tier than simply being registered, awarded only after your practice has been reviewed against higher standards. Registration number 00928676.
Qualified online counsellor
Online and phone sessions aren't an add-on for me. I hold a separate qualification in online counselling, which is what lets me work with clients anywhere in the world, not just locally.
Level 5 Counselling Children and Young People
I'm qualified to teach the Level 5 Counselling Children and Young People course, so training other counsellors sits alongside my client work. More on that on my training page.
DBS and insurance
I hold a DBS check, Disclosure and Barring Service, and liability insurance. Both matter here, especially working with children and in schools.
What I bring to the room
I came to children first: in a nursery, in social care, in schools. Counselling is what I built once I understood them. That's still how I work now.
Ready to take the next step?
If you already know what you need, get in touch. If you'd like to see how I work with adults, with children and young people, with schools or with workplaces, those pages are just a click away: adults, children and young people, schools, workplaces. Curious who else I work with? See partnerships.