Helena Blackstone
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Starting psychotherapy can feel like a step into the unknown. As we come to understand ourselves better and feel truly heard, it can also be deeply fulfilling.
You may come with a particular concern, be struggling with difficult feelings that don’t have an obvious source, or you may simply want to live more fully. I work to build a collaborative and attuned relationship with you in which we can explore your thoughts, feelings and relationships, past and present. Through this process we can come to a deeper understanding of yourself, the people around you, and your world.
We often push away our pain through minimisation or distraction because that's what we were taught to do. Though this response is common, our suffering doesn't vanish—it remains beneath the surface, either waiting for acknowledgment or manifesting as unwanted patterns of thought or behaviour.
Real transformation occurs when we embrace these patterns without judgment, engaging with them rather than fighting against them. I may challenge you at times, but always from a position of deep empathy.
My work has included clients of diverse ages, ethnicities, sexualities and other contexts and I am committed to inclusive practice. I can help with anxiety, depression, life transitions, loss and bereavement, workplace difficulties, emotional regulation and identity challenges, abuse, relationship breakdown and difficulties forming healthy relationships, sex-related issues, sexual identity, women’s issues and more.
I am an integrative psychotherapist, meaning I have a wide basis of understanding from different perspectives and various therapeutic tools I can offer, all of which I tailor to the needs of each individual. My way of working prioritises our relationship as key - coming from my understanding of contemporary relational psychoanalytic perspectives - and centres you as the expert of your own experience - which I take from existential phenomenology.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have over seven years of experience supporting people with their mental health, having worked with a diverse range of clients. In the NHS, I provided therapy for women with histories of childhood sexual abuse and complex trauma. I have also supported clients in the third sector, prisons, immigration removal centres and higher education.
Outside of my work as a therapist, I am Operations Director at mental health charity Mind in Camden, where I lead on development and delivery of mental health services. Before working in this field, I was a journalist, specialising in mental and sexual health, as well as covering the arts.
My qualifications include:
- Postgraduate Certificate in Integrative Psychotherapy (Regent's University)
- MA in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling (Regent's University)
- Certificate in reflective mental health practice (The Tavistock Centre)
- Certificate in Psychoanalytic Counselling & Psychotherapy (The Tavistock Centre)
- MA in Journalism (City University)
- BA in English Literature (Bristol University)
I also commit to regular and continuing professional training, which has included topics such as working with dreams, attachment theory, existential therapy and creative writing as therapy.
Member organisations
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
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
Fees
£70.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
To help understand what you are looking for from therapy and whether I am the right therapist for you, I offer a free initial phone conversation of 10-15 minutes.
Sessions after that are 50 minutes at the same time and day each week, at a cost per session of £70.
I have a limited number of lower cost spaces for those on low incomes. Please enquire with me about availability.
When I work
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