Helen Anderson

Counselling Psychologist in Hillcrest and Westville, Durban

I am a Counselling Psychologist, practising in both the Westville and Musgrave areas. I work with adults (individuals and couples-therapy), adolescents and children (assessment and play-therapy). I am a Rogerian, client-centred therapist, meaning that I view my clients with unconditional positive regard. I know that it often takes a lot of courage to start the process of therapy; I am interested in the unique life-story that each of my clients has to tell, and I listen with a lack of judgement and a total commitment to my client’s well-being. My aim is to give you a safe space within which to unburden and through the therapeutic process I hope that you will discover who you really are, explore your options, and become empowered to make choices in your life that allow you to soar.

My base approach tends to be psychodynamic, although I do adapt to whichever orientation is needed for a particular client and situation. I therefore also use a fair amount of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Narrative Approaches and Strengths-based therapy. I firmly believe that understanding oneself is the gateway to the world; in other words, everyone can benefit from therapy, as the more we understand what motivates our actions, the more successful and happy we will be in every aspect of our lives. In my view, seeking therapy is a sign of strength.

Consider this quote by Shakti Gawain: “We avoid the things that we’re afraid of because we think there will be dire consequences if we confront them. But the truly dire consequences in our lives come from avoiding things that we need to learn about or discover.”

The areas in which I am interested include, but are not limited to: Depression and Anxiety, Trauma, Bereavement/Loss, relationships and couples therapy, Eating disorders, Self-mutilation, Adjustment difficulties, Child and Adolescent Assessment and issues around general personal growth and development (such as improving self-esteem, assertiveness training, setting boundaries, etc).

I also offer equine-assisted psychotherapy (therapy with horses). Horses are beautiful, majestic animals who are completely non-judgmental. They do not care how we look or how intelligent we are. Rather, they are interested in WHO we are and HOW we act towards them in the here and now, and they are able to see right inside our souls. They teach us so much about being genuine and about living in the moment. As such, they are powerful healers in the therapy setting.

HPCSA no: PS 0112372
Practice no: PR 0390666