A little about me...

Psychotherapist, educator and group facilitator

I have twenty-five years experience as a Psychotherapist and fifteen years experience as a Group Facilitator and Lecturer in third-level education in Counselling and Psychotherapy, up to and including Level 8 programmes.

I also have a thirty-year background in musical theatre and this allows me to bring a high level of creativity to my work. As each individual is unique, I believe that the personal journey to happier mental health will also be completely unique.  I would love to journey with you.

Group work

I am passionate about the value of group work as it is deeply transformative.

There are pieces we carry that can feel so shameful, terrifying or overwhelming, that we struggle to even acknowledge their existence.  We may have been carrying these pieces for years or even decades, and we have often been carrying them entirely alone.

When we gradually feel safe enough to share in a group and we tentatively reveal our vulnerability, something amazing happens.  We begin to experience acceptance, prizing, valuing, and we begin to feel new seeds of self-worth growing.  We also begin to see that others have their own vulnerabilities too and that, while completely unique, we are also so alike in our human condition.

Paula Short Personal Development Courses

Psychotherapy Training

  • Master of Arts in Humanistic and Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy – Tivoli Institute
  • Bachelor of Science honours degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy – Middlesex University
  • Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy – Middlesex University
  • Diploma in the Psychology of Counselling – National University of Ireland
  • Professional Certificate in Sexual Addiction Counselling – PCI College

I have further training and experience in the following areas:

  • Intensive Training and Supervision for Group Counsellors with Gerard and Marianne Corey
  • The Art of Group Facilitation with An Croí Wisdom Institute
  • EFT Training – levels 1-3
  • Advanced Diploma in Child Psychology – level 5
  • Expressive Arts
  • Wombtwin Survival
  • Parenting a child with type 1 diabetes
  • Gestalt therapy
  • Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
  • Masterclass in Mandatory Reporting and the Therapeutic Relationship with One-in-Four


Areas of research

Wombtwin Survival:  “The death of a twin or multiple in utero or at birth has significant psychological effects upon the surviving baby or babies and this phenomenon should be widely understood by counsellors and psychotherapists”

Theatre and Mental Health:  “A consideration of the psychologically-therapeutic value of participatory theatre, without overt psychotherapeutic structure, on a child or teenager with mental health challenges”


My approach

My approach is primarily humanistic, working from the person-centred model; however, I have also integrated some of the key concepts behind other theoretical approaches and may utilise techniques from these models.