Helen Acton MBACP, UKCP-reg

Ross Street Cambridge CB1 3BS View map
07798622601 www.cambridgetherapist.com Click here to Email me

Profile

Approaching therapy or counselling for the first time can feel like a daunting and confusing prospect. People from all walks of life come to see me for many different reasons; it is a positive decision to make, but you may have many questions about what therapy and counselling are like and how they can help. The relationship between you and your therapist is at the very heart of therapy, so it's important that you choose someone who is right for you.

Psychotherapy or counselling with me is a shared undertaking to make sense of your experience. I think of myself as a companion and facilitator in your exploration, and together we will try to work towards a deep understanding of your experience and look at the situation from different perspectives and new angles. I provide a warm, wholly supportive and non judgmental environment; sometimes just hearing yourself say out loud the things you have been feeling can bring relief and clarity. I won't give you advice or tell you what to do; I believe that you are ultimately the expert on your own life. Therapy with me is first and foremost a safe and confidential space in which to share how you are feeling, and be heard.

The way I work is concerned with exploring the choices we make in our lives, the meanings we ascribe to aspects of our world, and the ways in which we can become stuck with our ways of being. Together we will look at your personal value systems and consider how they inform the way you live your life; you may begin to challenge your feelings and the assumptions you make about your life, and gain some clarity about where you are, and where you want to be. Therapy is an opportunity to explore how you relate to the people in your life and to the experiences you have; a space in which to reflect upon the decisions you are making and the possibilities which may lie ahead.

My approach to psychotherapy is called existential-phenomenological, which is a lot more down-to-earth than it sounds! It means that the therapy has its roots in philosophy, and has at its core an exploration of how you are living your life right now; I will not shoehorn you into any theoretical category or model, and together we will focus on whatever emerges as important for you.

Though therapy with me is primarily existential-phenomenological, I also have training in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and integrative therapy, including psychodynamic and person centred models, and I draw on these when I feel they may be helpful to my clients. I also have a particular interest in Attachment Theory and the effect that early experiences can have upon our adult relationships.

Contact:
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like to book an initial no-obligation appointment. The initial session is an opportunity for us to spend a little time deciding if we feel comfortable with each other and would like to work together.

Training, Qualifications & Experience

Credentials:
- Registered Member of the UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy)
- Member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (MBACP)
- Member of the Society for Existential Analysis

I am bound by and adhere to the BACPs Ethical Framework; I also commit to and maintain the UKCP's Ethical Principles & Code of Professional Conduct.

I trained at the School of Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology at Regents College, London, where I gained the following qualifications:
- Foundation Certificate in Psychotherapy & Counselling
- MA in Psychotherapy & Counselling
- Advanced Diploma in Existential Psychotherapy.

Though my approach to therapy is primarily existential-phenomenological, I also have training in CBT and integrative therapy, including psychodynamic and person-centred models, and I draw on these when I feel they may be helpful to my clients.

Experience:
In addition to my private practice I am the College Counsellor at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. I have also worked for the Terrence Higgins Trust, the Claremont Psychotherapy Service, the Student Counselling Service at Goldsmiths, University of London, and the Nuffield Health Cambridge Hospital. Though I see clients from all walks of life, I have particular experience of working with sexual minority clients, students, actors, people working in the arts, and those affected by HIV & Aids.

Publications:
My paper "I Am What I Am? - Existentialism & Homosexuality" was published by the Journal for Existential Analysis in July 2010.

My paper "Freedom Captured by the Green-Eyed Monster: Some Existential Perspectives on Romantic Jealousy" was published by the Journal for Existential Analysis in January 2010.

Areas of counselling I deal with

Other areas of counselling I deal with

FOR INDIVIDUALS:
- depression
- anxiety
- a sense of being stuck
- general feelings of unease
- a general sense of dissatisfaction
- a lack of purpose
- difficulty making decisions
- dealing with dilemmas
- loss of meaning
- loss of identity
- work issues
- spiritual crisis
- existential crisis
- issues around self-worth and self-esteem
- sexual, physical and emotional abuse survival
- mid-life crisis
- separation and divorce
- parenthood
- bereavement and loss
- redundancy
- retirement
- feelings of loneliness and isolation
- problems with intimacy and sex
- problems connecting with friends and family
- commitment issues
- fidelity, trust & jealousy issues
- uncertainty regarding a relationships future
- grief over the loss of a relationship
- coming out
- identity issues
- gay lifestyle issues
- gay parenting issues
- sex addiction
- living with HIV
- negotiated non-monogamy
- transgender issues

FOR COUPLES:
- becoming stuck in patterns of relating
- a lack of mutual support and understanding
- feelings of growing apart
- circular arguments
- a desire to relate on a deeper level
- loss of desire or intimacy
- approaching marriage
- impact of parenthood
- fertility issues
- illness
- bereavement
- redundancy or professional life changes
- fidelity, trust & jealousy issues
- uncertainty regarding a relationships future
- managing a relationship break-up

Therapies Offered

Humanistic Therapies

Existential Therapy

Fees

Individuals: £50 per session
Couples: £70 per session

All sessions last 50 minutes.

Further Information

GAY & LESBIAN THERAPY:
Therapy with gay and lesbian clients is, of course, in a general sense no different from that with heterosexual clients; it is the exploration of a person's experience which is always unique to them, whatever their sexual orientation. Nevertheless some gay, lesbian and bisexual clients feel more comfortable knowing that their therapist has a particular understanding and familiarity with the gay community and the gay-specific issues with which they may be faced.

I have spent many years working with people of all sexual orientations; I previously worked as a counsellor at the Terrence Higgins Trust; and I am deeply committed to the principles of a gay affirmative therapy.

I see gay, lesbian and bisexual clients in both individual therapy and couples therapy settings.

Some of the issues with which I work include:
- coming out
- identity issues
- gay lifestyle issues
- gay parenting issues
- sex 'addiction' and compulsive sexual behaviour
- living with HIV
- sexual, physical and emotional abuse survival
- relationship issues
- fidelity, trust & jealousy issues
- negotiated non-monogamy
- transgender issues

COUPLES COUNSELLING:
Seeking therapy as a couple can be a positive experience at any stage of a relationship. Very often it is helpful when one or both partners are feeling misunderstood or isolated, or when couples find themselves repeating negative and destructive patterns. Communication may have broken down and partners may find it difficult to see a way forward. Relationship counselling can be challenging, but it is an opportunity to air hurt and angry feelings in a safe, private and controlled setting. It can offer new insights into the ways you are communicating and experiencing each other, help clarify thoughts and feelings, and can help free you to find new, more positive, ways of relating.

Reasons to come for couples therapy may include:
- becoming stuck in patterns of relating
- a lack of mutual support and understanding
- feelings of growing apart
- circular arguments
- a desire to relate on a deeper level
- loss of desire or intimacy

Couples very often come for counselling at moments of crisis and change; exploring these difficulties with your partner in a therapy setting can increase your understanding of each others experience and your awareness of how you are relating together.

Some of the situations in which counselling can help include:
- approaching marriage
- impact of parenthood
- fertility issues
- illness
- bereavement
- redundancy or professional life changes
- fidelity, trust & jealousy issues
- uncertainty regarding a relationships future
- managing a relationship break-up

My approach to couples therapy:
I provide a warm, supportive and non-judgmental environment, and I do not take sides. As a couples therapist I do not come to the sessions with an agenda; I am not there to tell you what to do or to manipulate you into staying together. I am there simply to facilitate you in finding your own way forward; for some couples this will mean finding a more creative and positive future for the relationship, while for others it may mean helping you to accept and manage the end of a relationship.

During the course of the therapy I may meet with each of you for a pre-arranged individual session, but in general the sessions will be attended by both of you and require commitment from both parties.