About Helen Stone

I have been using counselling skills to help people in crisis since 1995, and became a fully qualified counsellor in 2003. 

I was drawn to train as a person centred counsellor because this approach helped me enormously when I was going through my own crisis many years ago.

At the core of the person centred approach is respect. Respect that we are all doing our best in the circumstances and that if we are struggling that is because what we are facing is difficult to handle. A supportive relationship where we have space to talk things through without being judged, where being understood helps us to understand ourselves, frees us up to do whatever we need to do to move forward. 

The power in the person centred counselling is that the approach follows you. Some approaches to counselling impose a way of working on you. For example, some approaches will take you into to the past, whereas other approaches will encourage you to leave the past behind and focus on ways forward. The person centred approach prioritises you rather than imposing a rigid method; it changes and evolves with you. So if you need to talk about things that happened years ago then that is what we will do, and if you see the way forward as focusing on ways to stay positive then that is what we will do. 

I feel enormously privileged to have worked with many different people, from many different backgrounds. For some people all that was needed was a single session, and for other people reworking damage from the past has taken years, but with each person I have worked with I have witnessed their strength and resourcefulness and their instinct to find a way forward. I feel humbled and honoured to journey alongside all of those I have worked with over the years, and I look forward to working as a counsellor for many years to come. 

My hobbies include Authentic Movement, a process of moving from the unconscious body and witnessing with real clarity; studying Process Oriented Psychology and watching movies. 

Helen's qualifications, training and experience

Helen works as a person centred counsellor working with individuals and couples.

Training and qualifications

• 1993 Training in Person Centred Counselling Skills, followed by extensive help line experience

• 2003 Advanced Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling

• 2006 Traumatic Incident Reduction Training with the Traumatic Incident Reduction Association

• 2007 Post Graduate Certificate in Education

• 2010 Workshop with Margaret Warner, Working with difficult, fragile and psychotic process

• 2011 Diploma in Person Centred Supervision with Irene Fairhurst (who worked with Carl Rogers)

Additional continued professional development

Bridging worlds - working with extreme states, living with HIV, Heterosexism and homophobia, gender dysphoria

Helen has experience working with people experiencing: 

Abortion, abuse, addiction, affairs and betrayals, agoraphobia, anger management difficulties, anger management, anxiety, people with Aspergers syndrome and on the autism spectrum, bereavement, bi-polar disorder / manic depression, bullying, cancer, couples counselling, dementia, depression, diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS, dissociation, domestic violence, eating disorders, exploring their sexuality, emotional abuse, family issues, feeling they are disappearing or wearing a mask, finding their purpose in life, gender dysphoria, grief, infertility, loneliness, low self confidence, low self esteem, miscarriage, panic, personality disorder, physical abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, postnatal depression, pregnancy and birth, redundancy, relationship issues, schizophrenia, seeking more joy, self harm, separation and divorce, sexual abuse, sexuality, spirituality, stress, suicidal thoughts, trans issues, trauma, unhappiness,  work related stress and worrying. 

Helen has been a volunteer counsellor at Leeds Mind and at Solace, a charity for survivors of persecution and exile. 

When we have missed out on stability and caring in our childhood, or when we have experienced neglect or trauma we can benefit enormously from a counselling relationship. With the counsellor we can acknowledge the loss and experience the consistent care and empathy which helps repair the damage of the past.

Some of us aren’t quite sure why we are coming at first, but we just know we need someone to talk to. 

Whatever it is you are coming to talk about, Helen will welcome you. We can feel that our issues are too big or too small, or that we won’t be able to find the words to speak about things, and yet when we have someone who wants to listen to us, someone who accepts us for who we are, then somehow the words just come. 

Many people meet prejudice in society, subtle signals that they aren’t welcome and counselling can be a respite from the storm of discrimination, a place where you can simply be you.  

Helen is an accredited member of the AHPP.

Counselling

The person centred approach to counselling

The person centred approach came out of what works in practice. When we experience a safe space where we can think around what is going on for us, a place where our emotions are also welcome, a place where we feel understood and respected, then we become clearer about what we need to talk about, we gain new understanding and find our way forward.  

Trauma debriefing

Traumatic incidents tend to replay within us because we were overwhelmed at the time. There are a large variety of ways to work with them, including a variety of ways that are designed to help us to discharge the trauma energy by reviewing the incident in a safe environment. These specialised ways of working with trauma have been shown to be more effective than general counselling.  

Because the original incident was so troubling it is understandable that we may not want to revisit it, which is why I trained in Traumatic Incident Reduction which is designed to give you a safe container and to give you control. The reviewing of the incident is started from the place of safety before the incident and finishes at the place of safety after the incident, and you view the incident as many times as you need to, perhaps skimming over the whole incident on the first visit. The sessions are designed to keep going until the incident is processed in order to avoid the need to stop part way through, this means that sessions may be scheduled for up to 2 ½ hours  long. 

Debriefing the trauma is distinct from giving someone counselling in order to help them live with the symptoms, so generally fewer sessions are required. 

Trauma debriefing is useful for events you have been through or witnessed, and common uses include after giving birth, after rape or other attack, or a threat of an attack, or after an accident.

Counsellors seeking supervision

Good quality supervision underpins our practice as counsellors. We need a place where we can both celebrate our strengths and challenge ourselves so that we can give our best to our clients. I aim to enter into a collaborative relationship with you, so you have a space where you can speak freely, explore and question your practice. 

I trained as a supervisor with Irene Fairhurst who worked alongside Carl Rogers when he came to the UK. 

Supervision fees £50 an hour.

Counselling fees and availability

I offer a first free session so you can meet me and see how I work and then my fees are as follows :

• £50 an hour (Sliding scale available for those on low incomes down to £30 an hour)

Sessions over video call are available (with the option of switching to phone if the service is disrupted).

You are in charge of how long you want to have counselling for, whether you choose to have a single session or long term counselling.

Accessibility

There is a small step into the property. Zoom sessions will be offered if accessing the room is difficult. 

Contact Helen