Helen Capanda

I offer appointments between 10 am and 6.30 pm during the week, with additional availability on Saturdays.

If you're interested in working together, please feel free to get in touch and we can find a time that works for us both.

People come to see me for many reasons. You may be experiencing anxiety, struggling with relationships or finding it difficult to manage your emotions. Sometimes there's simply a sense that something isn't working or that life isn't quite where you'd like it to be.

Our experiences, relationships and the beliefs we've developed can shape how we feel and respond to life today. Through therapy, we can explore these connections, deepen your understanding of yourself and consider what you might want to change.

I offer a warm and reflective space, bringing curiosity and honesty alongside years of experience and a range of therapeutic skills. Together, we can explore difficult feelings, recognise familiar patterns and look at how you relate to yourself and others.

My work draws on different approaches, including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), an evidence-based therapy widely used to help people process trauma, distressing memories, and experiences that continue to affect the present. EMDR can help reduce the emotional intensity of past events so they no longer feel as overwhelming or intrusive.

I am also trained in parts work, which can be particularly helpful when working with complex trauma and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). I use the therapeutic arts, offering creative ways to explore and express experiences that may be difficult to put into words.

My hope is to support you in finding greater understanding, confidence and a way forward towards a life that feels more peaceful and more you.

My approach to therapy is shaped by more than 23 years of experience working in education, initially as a teacher and, since 2016, as a school counsellor. Alongside my therapeutic training and ongoing professional development, over 40 years of personal exploration and growth have also deeply influenced how I understand people, relationships and emotional wellbeing.

I offer a warm, thoughtful and creative space where you can feel heard and understood, without judgement or pressure to have everything worked out. I believe the relationship we build together is a very important part of therapy.

An understanding of neurobiology informs my work, particularly the importance of emotional regulation and developing a sense of safety and security. From the beginning, we explore ways to feel more emotionally settled, building a foundation from which we can explore difficult experiences together.

Our sessions may involve talking and reflecting, exploring experiences creatively, or developing practical ways to manage difficult feelings. We work together, finding an approach that feels helpful for you and supports the changes you want to make.

Taking the first step towards therapy can feel daunting. I offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute telephone consultation, giving us an opportunity to talk briefly about what you're looking for and whether an initial appointment might be helpful.

Our first session lasts approximately 60 minutes and is an opportunity for us to meet and begin exploring what has brought you to therapy and what you might hope to gain from our work together.

I'll ask some gentle questions about your current circumstances, background and experiences to help me understand how best to support you. You can share as much or as little as feels comfortable, and there will be time for you to ask questions and get a sense of how I work.

We can then think together about what might be helpful moving forward and whether working together feels right for you.

I offer appointments between 10 am and 6.30 pm during the week, with additional availability on Saturdays.

I currently have some availability on Monday mornings, Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons.

If you're interested in working together, please feel free to get in touch and we can find a time that works for us both.

People come to see me for many reasons. You may be experiencing anxiety, struggling with relationships or finding it difficult to manage your emotions. Sometimes there's simply a sense that something isn't working or that life isn't quite where you'd like it to be.

Our experiences, relationships and the beliefs we've developed can shape how we feel and respond to life today. Through therapy, we can explore these connections, deepen your understanding of yourself and consider what you might want to change.

I offer a warm and reflective space, bringing curiosity and honesty alongside years of experience and a range of therapeutic skills. Together, we can explore difficult feelings, recognise familiar patterns and look at how you relate to yourself and others.

My work draws on different approaches, including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing), an evidence-based therapy widely used to help people process trauma, distressing memories, and experiences that continue to affect the present. EMDR can help reduce the emotional intensity of past events so they no longer feel as overwhelming or intrusive.

I am also trained in parts work, which can be particularly helpful when working with complex trauma and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). I use the therapeutic arts, offering creative ways to explore and express experiences that may be difficult to put into words.

My hope is to support you in finding greater understanding, confidence and a way forward towards a life that feels more peaceful and more you.

My approach to therapy is shaped by more than 23 years of experience working in education, initially as a teacher and, since 2016, as a school counsellor. Alongside my therapeutic training and ongoing professional development, over 40 years of personal exploration and growth have also deeply influenced how I understand people, relationships and emotional wellbeing.

I offer a warm, thoughtful and creative space where you can feel heard and understood, without judgement or pressure to have everything worked out. I believe the relationship we build together is a very important part of therapy.

An understanding of neurobiology informs my work, particularly the importance of emotional regulation and developing a sense of safety and security. From the beginning, we explore ways to feel more emotionally settled, building a foundation from which we can explore difficult experiences together.

Our sessions may involve talking and reflecting, exploring experiences creatively, or developing practical ways to manage difficult feelings. We work together, finding an approach that feels helpful for you and supports the changes you want to make.

Taking the first step towards therapy can feel daunting. I offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute telephone consultation, giving us an opportunity to talk briefly about what you're looking for and whether an initial appointment might be helpful.

Our first session lasts approximately 60 minutes and is an opportunity for us to meet and begin exploring what has brought you to therapy and what you might hope to gain from our work together.

I'll ask some gentle questions about your current circumstances, background and experiences to help me understand how best to support you. You can share as much or as little as feels comfortable, and there will be time for you to ask questions and get a sense of how I work.

We can then think together about what might be helpful moving forward and whether working together feels right for you.

I offer appointments between 10am and 6.30pm during the week, with additional availability on Saturdays.

I currently have some availability on Monday mornings, Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons.

If you're interested in working together, please feel free to get in touch and we can find a time that works for us both.

When your child or teenager is struggling, and you don’t know how to help, it can be heartbreaking. You may be worried about anxiety, overwhelming emotions, difficulties at school or changes in their behaviour. Perhaps home has become stressful, or you are watching your child withdraw, lose confidence or struggle to cope, and you’re unsure what to do next.

I work with children, teenagers and parents, helping to understand what may be happening underneath the behaviour and distress. My approach is warm and accepting, giving children and teenagers the time and space to express themselves at their own pace.

For some children and teenagers, talking isn’t always the easiest way to communicate what they are feeling. Therapeutic arts, play, sandtray, and creativity can offer another way in, helping them express things that may be difficult to put into words.

My approach is relational, neuroaffirming and attachment-informed. I work collaboratively with parents too, because supporting a young person often means understanding what is happening around them and helping relationships at home feel calmer and more connected.

I am a BACP Accredited Integrative Therapist. My foundation training was in therapeutic arts, with additional training in DDP/PACE and trauma-informed approaches.  I have worked with children and young people for over 23 years, initially as an art teacher and now as a therapeutic counsellor. 

My hope is that young people feel understood and supported, while helping parents make sense of what their child may be experiencing and what might help

Every child and teenager is different, so therapy with me doesn’t follow a set formula. I take time to get to know the young person in front of me; their personality, their relationships, their strengths and what might be happening beneath the difficulties they are experiencing.

Sessions may involve talking, drawing, painting, sandtray, play or other creative ways of working, depending on what feels comfortable and helpful for your child & teens. There is no need to be “good at art”; the therapeutic arts offer a way to explore feelings and experiences, particularly when finding the right words feels difficult.

I work with anxiety, emotional overwhelm, low self-esteem, grief and loss, and difficult or overwhelming experiences, as well as challenges around school, friendships, family relationships and belonging. I have particular experience supporting neurodivergent young people and offer a neuroaffirming approach that seeks to understand rather than change who they are.

Parents are an important part of my work with younger clients. I offer your child a therapeutic space that is theirs, where they can feel safe to explore and express themselves, while keeping you appropriately involved in the wider therapeutic process.

I also offer parents a space to step back, make sense of what may be happening and consider what they can do to help. This sometimes means becoming curious not only about your child’s behaviour, but about relationships, patterns and what may need to change around them. Together, we can begin to find a way forward that supports your child/teenager while strengthening connections within the family.

Above all, I want therapy to be somewhere a child or teenager can gradually feel understood, accepted and supported with difficult feelings and experiences, while offering you, as their parent, understanding and support too.

Finding the right therapist for your child or teenager matters. I offer a free 20-minute telephone consultation so we can briefly talk about what has been happening, what you are looking for and whether I might be the right person to help.

If we decide to take the next step, I usually meet with the parent or caregiver first, without the child or teenager present. This gives you space to tell me more about your concerns, their history and what family life has been like.

We can begin to make sense of what may be happening and think about what you and your child might need. I will also explain how I work, including confidentiality and how I involve parents while respecting the young person's therapeutic space.

If we agree to continue, I will then meet your child or teenager and begin gently, at their pace. Building trust and a sense of safety comes before expecting them to talk about difficult things.

We will review the work together as we go, so that therapy remains responsive to your child and family rather than following a fixed programme.