Helen Burke-Smith
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hi, I'm Helen and welcome to my page!
I know that looking for the right therapist and beginning the journey into therapy can feel overwhelming and daunting and I hope that this space gives you a little insight into what to expect from coming for therapy with me.
How Psychotherapy and Counselling can help:
I believe that all coping strategies and destructive behaviours that you are holding onto, in order to manage each and every day, have developed as a way to numb or cope with more difficult feelings/experiences.
I work in a non-judgemental, empathic and compassionate way to explore, from the root, what is going on for you. Rather than looking at your diagnosis or at the symptoms, and trying to "fix" those, I instead work to see you, to understand, to explore and to work together to heal what is really going on for you.
If we look at the wound, and we work to heal that, we can let go of all the sticky plasters we are trying to place over it, (i.e. the symptoms or destructive behaviours)
You are not your experiencing. It is not what is wrong with you, it is what has happened to you. My aim is to create a calm, confidential and safe holding environment for you to begin to explore your inner world.
My own experiencing:
I had some truly adverse childhood experiences which led to a deep rooted belief that I was unlovable and was broken beyond repair. I became brilliant at hiding my pain, with an exterior that portrayed a happy and easy life. Within, I was leaning on some very destructive coping strategies in adolescent life, which came to a peak and became impossible to hide in my early 20's.
In my mid 20's I embarked on a journey of healing and through my own therapeutic process, I realised that the beliefs I had about myself had come about because of my experience. I challenged many conditions of worth that were placed upon me (I am lovable only when / if...) and worked to find my true inner light and love - the light which had been dulled and lost with each difficult experience throughout my early life.
About me:
My work now is devoted to helping others to find their own light and to see that they are not the darkness they have endured.
I have accrued over 2000 clinical hours, having previously worked within the NHS and low cost counselling services and now work within private practice.
I am the founder and clinical director of The Pathway Clinic.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a fully qualified and accredited person-centred psychotherapist having completed a BA, a postgraduate diploma and a Masters degree in Contemporary Person-Centred therapy at The Metanoia Institute. I hold a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, am a trained hypnobirthing practitioner (KG) and am the founder of The Pathway Clinic.
My previous work as a hypnobirthing practitioner informs my practice in giving me a rigorous and extensive understanding of the body's nervous system, neurology and how our body responds to stressors. I am informed by neuroscience and my work centres around the healing of trauma, both physiologically (anxiety/depression) and emotionally.
I work with clients who have experienced childhood abuse, trauma, eating disorders, disassociation, suicidal ideations, addiction, depression and anxiety.
I offer individual counselling specialising in:
- Childhood Trauma with a focus on conditions of worth - “I am only lovable if/ when”
- Surviving physical/sexual/emotional abuse
- Loss/Grief
- Depression
- Anxiety and stress
- Eating disorders
- Addiction
I also work with couples and families and specialise in couples who are experiencing high levels of conflict, facing the challenges of an affair, find it hard to trust one another or feel insecure within the relationship.
Member organisations
school 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.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£125.00 per session
Additional information
- £200 for couples
When I work
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Further information
My clinic in Richmond is easily accessible using public transport - the building is directly opposite Richmond Tube and railway station.
Should you choose to work online, I use Zoom as the platform in which to see you weekly.
