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People start to heal the moment they feel heard.
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My name is Gwyneth Hellewell and I am a BPC registered psychoanalytic psychotherapist and counsellor with over 30 years experience. I am based in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, close to Cheshunt, Hertford and Harlow.
I offer weekly psychotherapy sessions either in-person or online.
I have experience of helping people struggling with a wide range of problems including depression, bereavement, abuse, and relationship problems.
I understand how life can come to feel too much, when your own resources feel depleted and those close to you no longer know how to respond. At times like these you might start to think about seeking help. I offer a safe, professional, confidential service, a place to talk, to feel heard, and to find relief from all the confusion of feelings and thoughts in your head and heart.
Coming for counselling or psychotherapy can feel daunting and you might wonder how you will feel describing all your most painful experiences to a complete stranger, and yet it is often the very fact of it being separate from your everyday life that makes it feel safe.
You might wonder how just talking is going to change anything. You may not know what is wrong and fear not knowing what to say. In my experience simply having the space to talk is therapeutic in itself. My role is to help you in that process of finding the right words and of getting to know yourself better and gaining a new perspective on your problems.
I do not generally tell you what to do. I listen and respond to what you say, getting a sense of how you experience life and relationships, of what motivates you, and then I work with that to help you to bring about change. We often have a very distorted view of ourselves and judge our own actions harshly, fearing that others will do the same, and being able to hear someone else's perspective on our thoughts and actions can help to modify those harsh judgments.
(*Quotation from Cheryl Richardson)
How to get started
Contact me by email or phone and we can make an initial appointment where we can talk about what has brought you to seek therapy.The fee for this initial session is £65. This does not commit you to attending further sessions and you may decide that this is not for you,or I might feel that a different sort of help would be better for you,in which case I would aim to refer you on to a colleague or suggest another type of counselling.If we do decide to continue we can discuss the ongoing fee and agree our working contract,including confidentiality.
What happens next?
If you decide that you would like to continue with further sessions then we will agree a day and time for you to attend which is convenient for both of us. Sessions are usually once a week at the same time and day. The fee for ongoing sessions is £65. I do charge for any sessions which are missed or cancelled without prior agreement because I feel that the quality of the work we do is highly dependent on the commitment that we both make to be there each week,and to recognise that missed sessions, even when unavoidable, have an impact on the therapeutic relationship. All sessions last for 50 minutes, and where possible take place once a week at the same day and time. Sessions must be booked in advance.
Areas of work
•Depression
•Anxiety
•Bereavement and Loss
•Relationship difficulties
•Work related stress
•Childhood trauma and abuse
•Domestic violence
•Low self esteem
•Coming to terms with physical disability and illness
•Emotional and psychological abuse
•Family issues. Child-related issues
•Bullying
