Helen Downs
Hope and practical support for change
About Helen
Helen Downs helps people who are coping with stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma, grief and low self-esteem. She supports those managing mood concerns such as depression and bipolar, as well as ADHD, intimacy and relationship challenges. Helen also works with issues around eating, sleeping, career strain, compassion fatigue and life transitions.
Helen has seven years of professional experience and holds NCPS as a credential. She has practised hypnotherapy for seven years and brings that experience into sessions when appropriate.
Background and approach
She has also spent time working in prison services and has developed an understanding of the particular pressures people face there. Her approach is practical and person-focused. Conversations centre on what matters to the individual and on small, manageable steps that can ease day-to-day strain.
She draws on client-centred methods alongside cognitive behavioural techniques and dialectical skills to help people notice unhelpful patterns and try new ways of coping. Psychodynamic ideas inform how past experiences and relationships can shape present difficulty, and hypnotherapy is used selectively to support relaxation and focused change.
Helen aims to create a respectful space where people can look at their history and plan for different choices moving forward. Sessions are offered in English and are available to international clients. The tone is warm and straightforward, with an emphasis on practical tools and steady progress rather than quick fixes.
What Helen works with
How Helen works
Listed by Helen among the ways they work.
Listed by Helen among the ways they work.
Listed by Helen among the ways they work.
Listed by Helen among the ways they work.
Listed by Helen among the ways they work.
Sessions & fees
Therapeutic approaches you can access online
Client-centred work focuses on the person in front of the counsellor. The aim is to listen closely and help people set goals that matter to them, building on their own strengths and values. This approach can help with stress, low self-esteem and relationship concerns.Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings and actions interact. It offers practical exercises and small experiments to change unhelpful habits, which is useful for anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, or DBT, brings skills for managing strong emotions and improving communication when stress or anger feels overwhelming.
Choosing the right approach is a shared process. Helen will work collaboratively to match methods to the person’s needs and preferences, adjusting the plan as therapy progresses. That means starting with discussion, trying techniques, and checking what helps most.
Online sessions can be arranged by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging. Video calls are good for face-to-face conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and messaging can suit people who prefer typing their thoughts or want flexible, ongoing contact between sessions. Together these options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit around work, family or travel commitments.
| Session length | Typically 50 minutes |
|---|---|
| Client ages | Adults, 18 and over |
| Fees | Subscription via BetterHelp, cancel anytime |
| Insurance | Not billed directly |
Questions people ask
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Areas of focus
What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Gender dysphoria
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 7 years
- Registered with
- NCPS
- Languages
- English
