Helen Cain

Hello and a warm welcome to my profile page.

Are you looking for help to make sense of your situation or to adjust to a significant life change? It's okay if you are feeling lost and don't know which way to turn. We can talk about finding a way towards a more settled and fulfilling life.

I am a UK-based integrative psychotherapeutic counsellor and invite you to contact me for an initial free 25-minute call to see if we would be a good fit working together.

I offer you a calm and compassionate space in which to safely explore what is troubling you, at a pace that feels right for you.

How I work

I hold a holistic view of our being, respecting equally the power of our mind and body to communicate and meet our needs. My therapeutic approach focuses on our relationship with ourselves and the bonds we form with others; it explores ways of beginning to accept all our parts and welcoming the person we genuinely are. Talking therapy is central to my practice but I also draw on creative interventions such as grounding, visualisation, focusing and mindfulness.

Experience

I have worked in addiction recovery, bereavement & loss, general practice and in education. I have experience with the following:-

 - supporting people affected by addiction 

 - supporting people navigate through bereavement and living losses such as infertility, relationship break-ups, redundancy, retirement, sensory loss, physical and mental health diagnosis, 'empty-nest' and geographical dislocation

- providing counselling for visually impaired and blind people - guide dogs are very welcome in my practice room.

 - supporting people living with the physical and emotional effects of surviving trauma

 - supporting people to find greater confidence, self-advocate and work through challenging situations

 - supporting young people struggling with self-regulation, relationships, self-esteem and identity

Online counselling

I adapted my therapeutic practice during the Covid-19 pandemic, to offer a meaningful alternative to face to face work. Having qualified as a certified practitioner to work online, I continue to offer you video and telephone sessions across the working week, some evenings and Saturday mornings.

Online work enables you to access counselling support at a time and in a place that is right for you. This may, perhaps, give you more possibilities to access support whilst also managing your existing commitments.

Practice room - In-person therapy

I also have a quiet practice room in a central village location in rural Suffolk. This is just 15 minutes’ drive from Bury St. Edmunds and enables me to offer in-person therapy too.

Both options offer you safe and confidential space to explore personal concerns or a particularly painful issue you may be facing. Many of us experience difficult emotions at certain challenging times in life, some of which are detailed below in terms of what I can help with.

Human Toolbox 

As well as being a counsellor, I am also a trained ‘Human Toolbox’  practitioner. This is a powerful psycho-educational tool, used to explain why we respond in certain ways to the experiences we face. It is solution focused; it sets out how we can harness the innate tools we already possess within us to take control and find healthier, more informed choices of responding to life’s ever-changing situations.

Anxiety and depression are normal bodily responses to difficult situations but often our coping mechanisms and behaviours fuel our stress response rather than enable us to manage more effectively.

I integrate this awareness into my counselling practice, together with creative interventions, breathwork and mindful, somatic awareness. My aim is to empower you to develop the internal resources that generate greater self-compassion, confidence, energy and joy.

I am also a member of the 'Creative Counsellors' organisation.

To begin, we will talk through your intake questionnaire, your contract and counselling agreement. I will invite you to share what brings you to therapy and to learn something of your hopes for the future.

I aim to create a sense of safety and trust. Where you feel secure to openly tell your story, without judgement. I offer you kindness, patience and encouragement.

Moving towards healing

I believe we all possess the inner wisdom and knowledge to know what is best. But we can sometimes feel stuck between staying with what is familiar but no longer serving us and choosing a new and unknown alternative. Becoming open to this is part of the process, it is a sign of change, but this is difficult to do alone.

I will notice, reflect, gently wonder and steadfastly ‘sit alongside’ you as you observe and discover new, and sometimes painful truths. You have the capacity to re-write your narrative, find courageous new ways forward and separate your past, present and future. This takes patience and time but offers a chance to find who you were meant to be, in the lighter space that is healing.

Governance

I work within the BACP ‘Ethical Framework for Counsellors’ and also the BACP Guidelines for Online Counselling and Psychotherapy. I will explain that the content of our sessions will not be shared with anyone else, except for the purposes of supervision of my clinical work, or in the instance of a disclosure where I believe you, or someone close to you, may be in imminent harm.

At Integro Counselling, we are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Information you provide to us will only be used in accordance with the privacy statement available on our website. We hold a licence with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and our licence number is: ZA815346.