Helen Hayes

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Pronoun: she
BACP Reg., MBACP Senior Accred, UKCP Reg
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

London, NW1 0PT
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

I offer counselling, psychotherapy, and supervision, both in person and online.

I am an experienced counsellor and psychotherapist with expertise in working with people with a wide range of difficulties, including depression, anxiety, relationship problems, sexual issues, abuse, domestic violence, bereavement, low self-esteem, work problems, stress, trauma.

I am a BACP Registered and Senior Accredited counsellor and UKCP Registered Psychotherapist. I have worked as a counsellor since 1994, in the voluntary sector, in primary care, and in a university student counselling service, as well as in private practice. I therefore have considerable experience of working with people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, addressing a wide range of emotional difficulties and life dilemmas, in both short-term and longer-term settings.

Whether you feel overwhelmed by the challenges of your present life, troubled by painful past experiences, or unsure of your future direction, you might find it helpful to talk things through in confidence with someone outside your normal circle of friends or family. I aim to offer you a supportive and non-judgemental relationship in which you can explore whatever is troubling you in life, express your feelings and thoughts, and come to a clearer understanding of yourself.

Training, qualifications & experience

Diploma in Counselling (Gestalt Centre) 1996
Working with Women Psychodynamically (Women's Therapy Centre) 1999
MA in Existential Psychotherapy & Counselling (New School of Psychotherapy & Counselling) 2006
Diploma in Integrative Supervision 2009

Diploma in Trauma Therapy 2020


BACP Accreditation 2005
UKCP Registered Psychotherapist 2007
BACP Senior Accreditation (supervisor of groups) 2012

BACP Registered Counsellor 2013


As well as my private counselling practice, I have worked for a number of voluntary sector organisations, providing support for women affected by domestic violence, rape, and sexual abuse. I have also taught on several counselling and psychotherapy training courses.
I have worked for over ten years as a counsellor in primary care, seeing clients referred by GPs, and for six years for a university student counselling service.

I am experienced in working with clients from diverse backgrounds and with many different concerns or difficulties

I am also qualified as a supervisor. I currently supervise for several voluntary sector counselling services as well as in private practice. 

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.

UKCP
UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)

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.

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

UK Council for 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.

UK Council for Psychotherapy
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

Other areas of counselling I deal with

I have specialist experience in working with women affected by domestic violence, sexual abuse and violence, including childhood abuse and trauma.

Photos & videos

Fees

£60.00 per session

Concessions offered for

  • Low income

Health Insurance/EAP

  • BUPA

Additional information



When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Mon & Thurs in person; Tues online

Please see my website for current availability

Further information

Existential Psychotherapy

My main training, and the heart of how I work, is in existential psychotherapy.  This means that I draw on philosophy as well as psychology to inform how I understand the sorts of concerns that might lead someone to seek therapy.  I believe that we are each seeking to make our lives meaningful in our own personal way, to understand our difficulties, and to find our way to living as fully and freely as we are able to do.  We are never isolated individuals, but always living in the context of our personal relationships, our social and cultural environments, and our own values and aspirations.

As human beings, we often hold ourselves back from achieving our potential, or find ourselves in difficulties in our close relationships, or struggle to find a sense of purpose in our lives.  Therapy can help in unravelling some of the knots that we have tied for ourselves.

Therapy is concerned with exploring and clarifying your choices, values, or meanings, and addressing how you deal with the inevitable challenges of life. It aims to help you understand yourself, how you might repeat patterns of behaviour or relationship which are limiting or destructive, and how you might make different choices for yourself in the future.

Often the origins of our difficulties lie in childhood and family experiences which have affected us as adults; therapy can be really helpful in enabling us to understand these influences and to overcome the ways in which they might limit us.   Sometimes these experiences are very painful, and we need to be gentle and careful in how we explore them.  I have trained in Trauma Therapy and bring a trauma-informed approach to my work.  

I initially trained as a Gestalt counsellor, an approach to counselling which shares many ideas with existential therapy, and sometimes includes creative ways of exploring them in therapy.

Gestalt Centre, 15-23 St Pancras Way, London, NW1 0PT

Type of session

In person
Online

Types of client

Adults
Older Adults

Key details

DBS check

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Wheelchair user access
Wheelchair user access

Wheelchair-accessible premises should have step-free access for wheelchair users and individuals who are unable to climb stairs. If a Counsellor's premises aren't step-free, they may offer alternative services such as telephone/web-based appointments, home visits, or meeting clients in different location, so you can choose the option that suits you best.

You can contact the Counsellor to discuss the options available.

Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access their service. You can read more about reasonable adjustments to help you to access services on the CAB website.

Online platforms

Zoom

Supervision

In person
Online

Experienced supervisor working with trainee and qualified therapists, in person and online.

View supervision profile

Social

Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes