Shelly Arkless

Shelly Arkless

I became self-employed in 2011 to dedicate my time to teaching mindfulness-based courses and workshops.   I have taught over 60 Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) courses privately to the general public, contractually to commercial and public sector organisations (education, health and clinically within the NHS).  I also teach one-to-one courses privately and use mindfulness within my clinical work within the NHS.  I designed an intensive all-day mindfulness workshop for staff at a NHS hospital that could not attend an eight-week mindfulness course because of their shift work.  I am a visiting lecturer at the University of Birmingham delivering mindfulness introductory modules to doctorate and post-graduate psychology students.  In 2017, I completed a postgraduate course in CBT at the University of Birmingham and I now am employed part-time by the NHS as a CBT Therapist.


Qualifications

  • Postgraduate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) University of Birmingham (September, 2017)
  • Master of Arts in Teaching Mindfulness from Bangor University (March, 2015)
  • .b – Mindfulness in Schools Training – 2014
  • Certificate of Competence in Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses Bangor University (November, 2013)
  • Mindful Eating for Conscious Living (MECL), Dr. Jan Chozen Bays (Belgium), 2013 and 2015

Teaching-Training Specialisms

  • MBCT for clinical settings
  • MBCT for general well-being
  • MBSR for general well-being
  • MBI’s in work place settings, schools and education

Supervision Experience

  • I completed Mindfulness Supervision Training with Cindy Cooper and David Shannon in June 2014.
  • I have been actively supervising since 2016.
  • I completed Train the Trainer with Trish Bartley and Bridgette O-Neil, June 2017.

Supervision Specialisms

I am interested in teaching all mindfulness teachers within the MBI’s (where I have experience), who teach publicly and clinically within the NHS.


Supervision Rate

1 hour individual session – £50-£60

½ hour individual session – £25-£35

Please see our Supervision FAQs for more details on the cost of supervision.


Personal Practice

I started meditating around eighteen years ago (2001) in a local Buddhist centre.  When I connected with mindfulness being delivered in a secular way years later, my practices strengthened. I then decided to enter the master’s teaching pathway at Bangor University in 2009.  Changing my relationship with my difficulties and choosing to respond versus react along with other mindfulness skills has changed my life and I wanted to share this with others.  I compare my intention to do my mindfulness practice to be as important as brushing my teeth.  I attend retreats to deepen my mindfulness practice and I adhere to the UK Guidelines for Mindfulness Teachers.


Research Activities and Interests

I have an interest in mindfulness and emotional eating which I explored in my master’s thesis.  I worked with a doctorate student at the University of Birmingham and delivered a MBCT (with an emphasis on mindful eating) eight week course to a group of Muslim female students for his PHD project (2016).

I also have an interest to strengthen mindfulness work in a clinical setting within the NHS.


Further info

As a mindfulness teacher and a mindfulness clinician, I get a sense of fulfilment when I see the positive changes that happen in someone’s life, either big or small, while taking a mindfulness course or receiving mindfulness training.  I see these changes too when supervising and watching someone really blossom as they develop their mindfulness teaching.   This supervision work is so important to protect the quality and integrity of true mindfulness teaching.


Shelly’s website:  www.themindfulroad.co.uk