Helen Walinski-Kiehl

I currently have availability between 8.30 - 18.30 on Fridays, and 8.30 - 14.00 on Saturdays. Within these days/times I can offer a degree of flexibility of session times/frequency.  

Hi, and welcome to my profile.

I have extensive experience of working with clients from many different backgrounds and age/cultural groups, and across a wide range of issues. Since qualifying to Advanced Diploma level in 2007, I have worked in both the voluntary sector and in my private practice, and for over 10 years I have provided therapy to student counsellors from numerous Universities and Colleges.

We might work together for a few weeks or for several months, according to your needs. I also offer longer-term work to help my clients discover the roots of more complex problems such as depression, anxiety, or very low self-esteem, then explore together how these might be resolved. I specialise in working at depth with people who have experienced various forms of trauma, or abuse.

I work mainly in a person-centred way, which means that YOU, the client, set the pace and the agenda for the work we do in each session, according to what is most important to YOU at any given time. This may be a continuation of work we have previously been doing together, or something totally different which is troubling you that day.

I also use psychodynamic insights in my work. This means that we may look at what has happened in your life so far, to help us discover why you may be feeling/acting/relating to people as you do. If you choose to do so, we would then explore more deeply together where these feelings/behaviours originated, and then use these insights to help bring about lasting change. 

I am currently working exclusively on-line, securely from my therapy room, via Zoom, WhatsApp and FaceTime.

I offer a full hour of therapy, ideally on a weekly basis. But I understand that this is not always possible for my clients, so we can agree to work on a different basis if that better suits your needs - eg, longer sessions, or a different interval.

If you are interested in working creatively in some sessions, rather than just talking, then I can offer you numerous creative options, such as working with dolls and/or soft toys, using photos, dreamwork, drawing, and role plays. These can be very effective and powerful ways of getting in touch with your emotions, and exploring the issues which arise.

I might also integrate elements of other counselling models, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy [CBT], Transactional Analysis, Gestalt techniques, and basic Mindfulness into our work, as and when we feel these might be helpful to our work together.

I am a person of faith, and often work with people to whom their various faiths are of importance/significance in their lives, and who wish to bring these aspects of themselves into our work together.

Please note that, although I work with individuals on their relationship issues, I am not qualified to work with couples.

This is where we start to get to know each other, and begin our therapeutic relationship. It's your opportunity to ask me anything you need to know, eg, how I will store your information securely, or roughly how long our work together might take. And, of course, to decide how you feel about working with me.

I will ask you some brief details about your current circumstances, the issue[s] you want to work on, and what you want to achieve from counselling. I will explain about my confidentiality and General Data Protection policies, and go through the contract we will make together.

BUT, important as these things are, far more important is YOU, my client, and how you feel at this first meeting. You may feel anxious, nervous or apprehensive, especially if you have never had counselling before, or have had a negative experience of therapy.

Or you may be so totally overwhelmed by your feelings/concerns, that now you've taken the big step of starting counselling, you just want to blurt these all out! And that's totally ok with me.

So my first task is to listen to you, and help you to feel SAFE with me. Everything else can wait!

Flexibility within 8.30 - 19.00 Fridays and 8.30 - 14.00 Saturdays

I am currently working exclusively on-line from my secure counselling room, via Zoom, WhatsApp or FaceTime.

Since qualifying as a supervisor in 2017, I have provided private supervision to qualified counsellors with varying degrees of experience. From 2018, I have also provided this to counselling trainees, continuing to support them in their practice beyond qualification.

I have several years experience of counselling 16 - 19 year-olds in a sixth form college, and of supervising counselling with this age group and upwards.

I specialise in longer-term therapy, working with complex issues at emotional depth, and am comfortable providing supervision for work at this level. I am also experienced in providing short-term therapy, and supervising brief and time-limited therapy.

As a person of faith myself, I regularly work with clients of various faiths for whom faith/spirituality is an important area in our work, and am happy to work with issues around these areas in supervision.

My approach is basically person-centred, with psychodynamic insights. I am an integrative therapist/supervisor, with a keen interest in offering/supporting creative ways of working to clients and supervises who may be interested in these, and I regularly integrate models such as CBT, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, and Mindfulness techniques into my practice.

Alongside encouraging and supporting my supervises in their work and the development of their practice, and, of course,  ensuring they are working ethically, and with due regard to safeguarding issues, I have a strong regard for the self-care and wellbeing of my supervisees - especially the students! 

The start of what I hope will be a strong and supportive collaborative relationship, where you can feel safe to bring any issues which concern you, or sessions which you feel may not have gone well/you've "messed up" [yes, we all have them!} without fear of judgement! Working together honestly in a supportive environment to understand what may have "gone wrong" in a session/client relationship can provide us both with valuable insights, and often produce ways of moving the work forward.

You will have the opportunity to ask me any questions you have about, eg, my practice/experience.

I will explain my confidentiality and GDPR policies, and my supervision contract. I will also ask you about your own practice : experience, client base, how you work - and what you will want from supervision.