My mission and passion is in empowering children, young people and families around the world to thrive and supporting parents to feel safe in responding to their child's emotional needs so they can form strong, healthy family relationships.
In working with children and young people to understand their strengths & qualities, they can feel empowered in understanding and developing their emotional agility and in providing you with a safe relationship within which you can learn and grow in responding to your child's emotional needs, strong healthy family relationships are forged.
WHO AM I?
Say Hello
I'm Helen, and with over 24 years professional experience in mental health and emotional wellbeing, including child and adolescent mental health, I'm highly skilled in working therapeutically with children and young people when they are struggling emotionally with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, grief, loss and difficult transitions in life impacting on their emotional wellbeing.
My knowledge, skills and experience are the foundation for a bespoke package of emotional resilience support for your children and you as a family.
The power of change

My approach is heavily influenced by my skills and training in Psychotherapy, Abuse and Trauma Recovery, Developmental Attachment Therapy; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); Theraplay; Solution Focused Therapy and Family and systemic therapy. I incorporate all of this skill, knowledge and experience in my program of support for building on the emotional wellbeing and resilience of children who may be struggling, alongside supporting you as parents.
My extensive specialist training in Attachment, the impact of trauma on brain development and emotional regulation, dissociation, emotional regulation and therapeutic parenting for all children including those fostered and adopted, all underpin my understanding of the impact of emotional distress and stressors for children and young people.
Having been trained by Dr Dan Hughes in his approach, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), I draw on this heavily in my work with children and young people and as such am also a trusted training provider for local authorities in the UK in this approach.
In this approach parenting with P.A.C.E (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) is the foundation by which I will help you to think and respond differently to your child's emotions, coupled with a positive psychology based approach in positive parenting.
90 Minute initial consultation
If we agree to proceed then we'll begin with a comprehensive 90 minute consultation to understand the full history and your current concerns. It will just be us to start with, and the consultation will be structured to provide me with as much information as possible to truly understand the best approach when working individually with children & young people and you!
Lindsey Hewson
2020Helen is amazing!
My son was really struggling… coming out of lockdown with his anger. Our goals were to help my son manage his anger. Helen has done this and more! She has given my son the tools by which to recognise his anger early and manage it. She has given my husband and I a different approach to parenting him and she has supported us as a family. She is simply wonderful.
Working together
After that initial consultation, we get started with a family meeting where your child has the opportunity to meet with me. It's a great chance for them to start getting to know me, explore the space they'll be meeting me in and to ask me anything they want. I'll also explain what we'll be doing together.
I'll work individually with your child over 6 sessions to focus on helping them to understand and manage the difficulties they have been experiencing. Alongside these 6 sessions you will have calls with me for advice and support. After every 2 sessions I will meet with you to advise on the ways in which you can respond to your child's needs.
On completion we'll have a parent consultation so that I can feed back to you, and I will provide advice and support on how to proceed as a family. However, there may be the need to continue with a small number of sessions and we'll decide on this together.
Lindsey Hewson
2020Helen is amazing!
My son was really struggling… coming out of lockdown with his anger. Our goals were to help my son manage his anger. Helen has done this and more! She has given my son the tools by which to recognise his anger early and manage it. She has given my husband and I a different approach to parenting him and she has supported us as a family. She is simply wonderful.
What do I support children and young people with?
...Abuse and trauma recovery.
...Anxiety and overwhelm.
...Grief and Loss.
...Struggles in trying to understand and manage certainty in uncertain times.
...Difficult life changes impacting on emotions (divorce, separation, moving away from their home country for example).
...Emotional overwhelm - an abundance of difficult emotions which aren't completely clear for parents to understand.

