Helen Downs, NCPS

Helen Downs is a counsellor who supports people facing midlife challenges, stress and anxiety, addictions and trauma. She also helps with self-esteem, relationship and intimacy issues, grief, parenting pressures and work-related concerns. Helen works with people dealing with neurodiversity, ADHD and a range of complex difficulties. She practises as a hypnotherapist and brings seven years of experience to her work.

Helen uses straightforward conversations to help people make sense of their situation. Sessions focus on understanding feelings, spotting unhelpful patterns and trying small changes that can make life easier. She draws on client-centred ways of working to follow what each person needs, and on cognitive behavioural methods to look at thoughts and behaviours.

Her background includes work inside the prison service and supporting people affected by involvement with the justice system. That work informs her practical approach when clients face stigma, addiction, or complicated life stories. She aims to treat everyone with respect and sensitivity.

Helen also uses elements of dialectical behaviour therapy and psychodynamic ideas when they help uncover long-standing patterns. As a practising hypnotherapist, she sometimes offers guided techniques for relaxation and focus. All of this is used to create clear, manageable steps towards change.

People who want to start are invited to reflect on immediate goals and what feels most pressing. Helen encourages gradual progress and practical plans so setbacks become opportunities to learn and move forward.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Helen commonly draws on client-centred work, cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy in her sessions. Client-centred work involves listening carefully and shaping sessions around what the person says matters most; it helps when someone needs a steady, respectful space to talk. Cognitive behavioural therapy looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions and offers practical tools to change unhelpful patterns, which can be useful for anxiety, mood or behaviour concerns. Hypnotherapy uses guided relaxation and focused attention to support change in habits, sleep or emotional responses when that approach suits the person.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what has or has not helped before, and then suggest ways to try different methods. Decisions are collaborative and adjusted as progress is made.

Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into busy lives by reducing travel and allowing greater flexibility around timing. Because the biography does not specify session formats, please confirm the available options before booking. Many people find that remote sessions allow shorter check-ins, better scheduling around work, and access when travel is difficult. Registered or accredited professionals offer guidance by phone or video, and the focus remains on practical steps that suit each person's day-to-day routines.