Helen Palmer

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BSc Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist BPC, MBACP (Accred)
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

I am a qualified Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. registered with BPC. I have also been Accredited with BACP and in private practice as a psychodynamic counsellor since 2001. I have extensive experience working with many different people with different problems particularly anxiety and stress related issues, relationships and depression,as well as obsessive behaviour.

I see counselling and psychotherapy as a way of helping people reach their potential and get the most out of life, whatever their personal circumstances. If you are in a time in your life when you feel you need to do something, now is a good time to give me a call. The hardest step is often the first one and if you are looking at this site then you are part way there to taking it, why not pick up the phone or send me an email to arrange an informal, confidential discussion and see if counselling with me is for you.

Training, qualifications & experience

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist (BPC registered, Member of Severnside Institute for Psychotherapy).

Diploma in Psychodynamic Counselling (BACP Accreditation 2001)
BSC (Honours) Psychology based 2002
Post Graduate Foundation Training in CBT 2010

Member organisations

Registered / Accredited

Registered / Accredited

Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).

Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.

Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.

All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.

Accredited register membership

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).

This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Fees

£60.00 per session

Concessions offered for

  • Low income
  • OAPs
  • Students
  • Trainee counsellors
  • Unemployed
  • Refugees

Health Insurance/EAP

  • BUPA

Additional information

£55 Individual £80 couples
Concessions available

When I work

Appointments from 7am through until 8pm.

Further information

I attempt to see people irrespective of their financial circumstances so do make concessions with my fee when possible. Factors we would consider together are the likely length and frequency of our work together when we agree a realistically affordable fee. I use a private consulting room about 10 minutes from Newent and Ross-on-Wye which offers a quiet and confidential setting with disabled access and toilet facilities.

More information in response to some frequently asked questions

Who is Counselling/psychotherapy for?

I see people, individuals and couples, with a wide variety of problems with varying degrees of severity. I believe counselling/psychotherapy can help most people with aspects of their lives that they believe are problematic. I have seen people with stress/anxiety, depression, obsessive, compulsive behaviours, addictive behaviour and all types of relationship and personal problems sometimes of a sexual nature. I also see people who lack motivation or direction, or a sense of purpose in their lives. I have counselled people who have been bereaved both recently and sometimes many years ago.

What type of counselling/psychotherapy?

I am psychodynamically trained and tend to work within this perspective. However I do use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) methods and others where appropriate. A psychodynamic perspective assumes that we are the way we are, to a large extent, because of past experiences and our reaction to them, not all of which are within our immediate consciousness. It assumes behaviour and emotional state are often directed or at least influenced by our unconscious and our present experiences are constantly reinforcing and in conflict with our unconscious world. In this way we, our “psyche” (the Greek for self) is truly dynamic, how we felt about things and our “self” in the past, affect how we feel about them now.

The cognitive behavioural perspective assumes we all have stories and pictures about our world, called “schemas”. These are based on experience and are mainly conscious but we are not always aware of them.

How does therapy work?

We all experience feeling different from day to day and often it is difficult to know why some days little things can be more annoying or upsetting than other days. Most people come into counselling or psychotherapy because they are looking to feel better or different with fewer ups and downs. It is not always the apparently obvious reason that is the cause of why we feel the way we do. Counselling/psychotherapy offers time and space with an impartial, non judgemental trained person to ask questions about assumptions we make about ourselves, others and our world and the way we feel as a result. It is this exploration, sometimes challenging, that develops awareness and insight that eventually can lead to change in the way we feel about our life situation. Sometimes this prompts physical life changes too.

How long does therapy take?

Counselling/psychotherapy is a process which once embarked upon continues throughout life. (Obviously, eventually without the therapist!) For some people that journey in the company of the therapist is short for others it is much longer. It depends on the individual on when they feel they can “go it alone”. This depends not only on how difficult things were for them when they started therapy but also on what they might want to do in life. This may change as they go through therapy. Often people remain in therapy even though their original reason for coming has long since subsided. They find it a source of enlightenment about themselves which is strengthening and confidence building.

Life Coaching/Counselling/Psychotherapy. What’s the difference ?

All three use counselling skills to varying degrees. A Life Coach would draw on his/her knowledge of life and people in light of what they know about their client and would use that to help coach a client into living a more satisfactory way of life. Always being led by the client the coach would not hesitate to advise and suggest ways to improve a life situation.

Counsellors/ psychotherapists rarely advise. They would expect clients to come up with their own solutions for making life “better”. They may introduce ideas for ways to do that but would rarely suggest they should do it. Counsellors help clients effect change by helping clients to “see” things differently.

Psychotherapy and counselling are very similar and are usually carried out in the same way. That is meeting at the same time each week for 50 minutes, no social contact between sessions. There is no social interaction between client and therapist, the relationship is strictly professional . The main difference between counselling and psychotherapy is probably at the level where client and therapist are working. Psychotherapy may take place with an increased frequency of sessions per week.

It is important to feel reasonably comfortable with your therapist. Research shows that the relationship between client and therapist rather than the type of therapy seems to be more indicative of a successful outcome. However, that does not mean that you will always agree, in fact some of the best work takes place when the client can talk to the therapist about things that are an issue between them.

Therapy can be a life changing experience. Most people enter in times of extreme discomfort but if they see therapy through, usually discover a sense of empowerment and a belief in themselves that they previously did not possess.

Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Young people
Adults
Older Adults
Couples

Key details

There is one step into an otherwise wheelchair accessible waiting room, toilet and consulting room.

Supervision

In person

I have been a qualified MBACP accredited therapist in private practice for 20 years.

View supervision profile

Helen Palmer
Helen Palmer