Helen Smith

I work Mon-Fri 10-6

Private Practice

Face to Face sessions

Zoom sessions where needed

Sessions are 60 minutes

Hello, I'm Helen, an Integrative therapist working with adults and teenagers in Pittville, Cheltenham.

Your pain doesn't need a name or diagnosis in order to be worthy of therapy. I work with whatever you bring. The foundation of my work is the same, whatever your gender, race, religion, class, age, sexuality or education. However, I believe that the intersection of these factors is vital to your experience of the world.

I have a special interest in the following groups:

Women who feel stuck in a life that doesn't quite fit

Perhaps you have a nagging feeling that life could be more beautiful. You may feel trapped or have experienced a wake-up call or final straw: Bereavement; relationship difficulties; work issues; children leaving home; peri-menopause/menopause; ageing parents; health issues. Whatever you come with, I'd like to help you face your life with a greater sense of peace, balance and joy.

Trainee counsellors

Perhaps you are looking forward to therapy, or perhaps the training is highlighting tender spots in your life that you are nervous of exploring. This is very normal, and I have been where you are now. I would very much like to support you in becoming more at ease with the breadth and depth of who you are, so that you can live and work with greater authenticity and peace.

Teenagers who feel overwhelmed, whose usual coping strategies are not enough

You may find it hard to put your feelings into words or to talk to friends and family about your problems. As well as being a therapist, I also teach, and I know about the stresses of school life. I have three children in their twenties and I've seen the emotional challenges they've faced in finding a life that is satisfying to them. I would very much like to support you in becoming more at ease with who you are and with your way forward in life.

Whoever you are, and whatever your problems I'd very much like to meet with you and hear how life is for you and support you to find your way through.

I trained back in the early 2000s as an Integrative therapist. My teachers and supervisors came from varied backgrounds including psychodynamic, person-centred, humanistic, Gestalt, cognitive behavioural and Jungian. This means I draw on a variety of theoretical models according to the needs and character of the people who come to see me. As a required part of my training I was also in personal therapy with a variety of therapists myself, and this has influenced the way in which I choose to work.

I believe it is the quality of the therapeutic relationship that is the most important factor in the healing work, which is why it is very important to find somebody who you feel safe with and whom you can establish a good connection. If you don't feel that you click with me I would support you to find someone else, though in practice this rarely happens. 

I will be interested in finding out about any past experience of therapy and about what brings you to therapy at this point in your life. I would be looking in three main areas in order to work with you. The first is your past - your family background and any events in your life that are relevant to what brings you to therapy. The second is your current environment at home and work, including your relationships and support network, health, and any factors that identify as important to who you are or impact your wellbeing. The third is how you relate to me, as this is the only example of how you relate to people that will be present in the room with me and is often a really useful way of me understanding you.

I'm always open to being asked questions and being challenged - from the very first contact this is your therapy and I welcome all feedback.

Our initial meeting is very much a chance for us to see if we can usefully work together. I will explain more about how I work and will invite you to tell me about what brings you to therapy. You will have a chance to ask anything about the way I work and share any concerns you may have about the therapeutic process.

By the end of the session I aim for you to be able to make a well informed choice about working with me or taking a different route and to feel more hopeful about your problems.

The kind of things I might ask could include: Have you ever had therapy before? How did that go for you? How did you come to be looking for therapy at this point in your life? Can you tell me a bit about your family of origin - who was in it, and how did you get along? You won't have to fill in any paperwork, it's more of a conversation.

My fee is the same for all sessions, whether online or in person, whether initial or ongoing. I do have a number of concessionary spots in my weekly timetable that may be available to you if the fees are difficult.