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Counselling & Psychotherapy with Shaen Milward - Ivybridge & Online

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Counselling & Psychotherapy with Shaen Milward - Ivybridge & Online

About Me

Take The First Step

Take The First Step

Shaen Milward

UKCP Trainee Psychotherapist, I am based in Devon, in the South Hams, where I was born and raised. This part of the world is home for me, and I care about offering therapy that feels local, grounded and connected to real life.

I originally trained as an Occupational Therapist and have spent more than 20 years working with people, including in senior NHS leadership roles and with extensive experience in hospice and end-of-life care. This has given me a deep respect for the pressures people carry, often quietly, across work, family, health, relationships, loss and responsibility.
Alongside my psychotherapy training, I have studied extensively across education, supervision, coaching and human development. I am also a father of two children, so I know something of the ordinary, everyday pressures of trying to hold things together.

My professional background

For more than 20 years, I have worked closely with people during some of the most pressured, uncertain and emotionally difficult times in their lives. This has included many years in hospice and end-of-life care, supporting people and families around illness, grief, death, dying and major life change.

I am an HCPC-registered Occupational Therapist, and this background still shapes the way I understand people, not just as a set of symptoms or difficulties, but as whole people living within relationships, families, work, health, responsibility and everyday life.

Alongside my psychotherapy training, I also bring experience in senior NHS leadership, supervision and psychologically informed practice. This means I understand something of the strain of responsibility, pressure, and the personal cost of holding things together for too long.

How I work

I offer therapy in a way that is relational, thoughtful and shaped between us over time. There is no need to rush or arrive with everything clearly worked out. We can begin with what feels most present, and work at a pace that feels manageable.
I see therapy as something we work on together, rather than something done to you. This means paying attention to what you bring, how we make sense of it together, and what gradually becomes clearer through the conversation.

My training

My psychotherapy training is integrative, with Transactional Analysis at its heart. Transactional Analysis, often known as TA, is a well-established therapeutic approach developed by Eric Berne, which helps us understand how early experiences, relationships, and patterns of coping continue to shape the way we live in the present.

What draws me to TA is that it is highly practical. It offers a clear way of making sense of relational patterns, internal conflict, old survival strategies, and the places in life where we can feel stuck. The integrative nature of my training also means I can draw from a broader range of approaches, allowing for both depth and flexibility. For me, that offers something of the best of both worlds: the depth and clarity of TA, alongside the flexibility to work in a more integrative way.

Professional background and affiliations

I am a trainee member of UKCP and a member of UKATA. My psychotherapy education has been through Iron Mill College in Exeter, alongside further professional development with the Connexus Institute in Brighton. This sits alongside my wider background in health and care.
I am also an HCPC-registered Occupational Therapist and a member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists. The way I work as a psychotherapist is shaped by many years of clinical practice, supervision, leadership, and experience of supporting people through loss, change, pressure, and emotional difficulty.

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