Helping you handle life and loss
One-to-one counselling & psychotherapy, in person and online, for adults navigating trauma, grief and big life changes.
ease anxiety
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reduce overwhelm
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process trauma
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address abuse
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Cope With Grief
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Soothe Distress
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Understand Your Emotions
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ease anxiety • reduce overwhelm • process trauma • address abuse • Cope With Grief • Soothe Distress • Understand Your Emotions •
I CAN HELP YOU TO:
Hi I’m Helen,
I’m a Counsellor & Psychotherapist specialising in trauma, grief and supporting clients through big life transitions. You can find me in the online register of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Before setting up my own practice, I worked in a trauma-focused counselling service and in a hospice, supporting individuals facing life-limiting illnesses and providing pre- and post-bereavement counselling to family members.
I love the work that I do. Despite these being hard, often heartbreaking topics, there is also space for deep meaning and joy.
I can support you through:
Trauma
I work with many individuals who have lived through physical, emotional or sexual trauma, particularly abuse and neglect during childhood. Sometimes trauma stems from specific harrowing incidents, but often it’s a more subtle accumulation of smaller hurts, threats, exclusions or breaches of trust.
If you identify with anxiety, people-pleasing, not feeling that you are enough, parenting your parents, pushing down your own emotions and never quite feeling completely safe or at ease, I may be able to help.
Grief
Are you reeling after a bereavement? Feeling lost, angry or numb? Struggling to function in daily life, or worrying that your brain is no longer working properly? Difficulty concentrating, indecision and lack of motivation are all common symptoms of grief.
I support people through grief associated with death, as well as grief from other kinds of loss, including relationships, jobs, pets, fertility or health.
Big Life Changes
Starting or ending a relationship, moving house, emigrating, rethinking your sexual identity, becoming a parent, changing career, retiring, confronting health issues or disabilities – any one of these is challenging. Dealing with more than one at once may be overwhelming.
I can help if you sense a big shift coming, or feel the urge to burn things down and start again. Or maybe that’s the last thing you want but everything is tumbling down around you and you need some assistance to find your footing.
“Counselling helped me tackle the issues that I just couldn’t seem to solve myself. I feel like I trust myself more than I used to. I’ve also found myself opening up more to close, safe friends about issues which I previously avoided because of fear. Talking about these things first with you gave me the words and the framework to talk about the specific things that I struggle with.” Adrienne, 20
My Approach
As a person-centred therapist, I begin with the belief that everyone is able to change, heal and flourish in the right conditions, so we’re aiming to reduce the barriers preventing you feeling better. I draw on somatic body-based approaches and, as an IFS-informed (Internal Family Systems) therapist, do a lot of ‘parts work’ with clients.
If you resonate with having different parts of you, sometimes pulling in opposite directions, squabbling inside your head or prompting you to act in ways that don’t always make sense, this could be a sign that we’d be a good fit!
Working together takes the form of a conversation in a calm, unjudgemental atmosphere. We go at your pace and you’re always in control of what we do and don’t discuss. I'll listen, ask questions, offer reflections and help you develop a deeper understanding of yourself.
We’ll likely incorporate some body awareness, and possibly some psychoeducation about your emotions, brain and nervous system. I’m a yoga teacher (and Grief Yoga teacher) too, so if some gentle movement or breathing and grounding exercises feel beneficial, we can integrate these into the session. Or, if you’re someone who likes to be busy with your hands, there’s scope to use art or craft materials while we talk.
Kind Words
“I loved talking outdoors, which I felt gave me a sense of freedom to open up, as if I had to burn off some existing tension by moving before sitting down on the park bench.” Luna, 48
“I found connecting with my inner child and the introduction to IFS/parts work incredibly helpful in being able to separate my true self from my reactions to situations or events. My ability to cope with issues has drastically increased since the start of counselling sessions. I do not feel as overwhelmed or hopeless when faced with adversity as I did when I began.” Kat, 27
“Most helpful to me in our work together was your wonderful balance of professionalism and friendliness, your strong communication and honest feedback and your gentle challenging to aid me in expressing my emotions and physical responses to them. Our work together was the scaffolding which supported me to build resilience and create new thinking pathways. You earned my trust and were very much an ally in my journey. I think what I valued most was your empathy and ability to make me feel safe.” Sarah, 69
Now Offering Therapy Intensives
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Now Offering Therapy Intensives •
Does your schedule make regular appointments difficult? Have you had counselling before and found you were just warming up when it was time to end? Would you like to do a deeper dive and make progress more rapidly than weekly sessions allow?
If so, Therapy Intensives might be for you. I offer half-day intensives (equivalent to a month of weekly sessions), or longer sessions by arrangement.