Counsellor, clinical supervisor and coach
About Helen Bennett
The transitions I work with rarely arrive with a map. Some announce themselves — a diagnosis, a treatment plan, a great deal of information and usually very little in the way of support. Others arrive more quietly, and are harder to explain to others. Nothing has gone wrong, exactly, but the career you built with effort and care, or the life you believed was right for you, no longer fits the person you have become.
What these transitions have in common is that you tend to be handed the practical version of the problem. Manage the symptoms. Update the CV. Adjust, research, cope. Menopause and perimenopause, fertility difficulty and baby loss, a late ADHD or autism diagnosis, a role or a relationship or an identity that has quietly stopped working — all of it gets treated as logistics while the part keeping you awake at night is the one nobody has offered to help with: the trickier questions of who you are now, what you want next, and whether you’re allowed to change your mind about something you worked hard for.
That part deserves proper support alongside the practical or medical advice and the logistical planning, rather than being something you go hunting for once you’re already struggling. It’s the reason I do this work, and the reason both sides of my practice coexist rather than choosing between a focus on therapy or coaching.
The career before this one
I spent years in People and HR before I ever sat in a counsellor or coaching chair. I built strategy, systems and processes and led change in high-growth businesses and start-ups across financial services, product, hospitality and travel, education and publishing.
I mention it because it’s still so relevant to my work. I know what it costs to manage perimenopause symptoms through a restructure, to weigh up disclosing a diagnosis to an employer, or to consider walking away from a profession you spent decades becoming good at. When a client describes the pressure of their working life, I’m not guessing.
Why I trained
I came to this profession the long way round, through personal as well as professional experience. It’s the root of the view I take about support belonging alongside medical and practical care, and it’s why I’m never in a hurry to move a client past the difficult part.
What I’m like to work with
My approach is humanistic, pluralistic and relational. Stripped of the terminology: we build a real relationship, and the relationship is where the change actually comes from.
I’m not interested in ego, jargon, or being the cleverest person in the room, and I won’t hand you homework to be marked. Our sessions are warm, direct and often involve much more humour than people expect. I can sit with the hard parts — grief, anger, fear, the loss of who you used to be — without rushing you towards a tidy plan. And when you’re ready to move, I know how to help you start.
Supporting other therapists and coaches
I care about the wellbeing of the people doing this work, not only the people receiving it. I spent four years co-managing the Counsellors’ Staffroom Facebook group of more than 8,000 therapists, and in 2023 I co-founded the Counsellors’ Staffroom community platform, offering peer support, CPD and networking to the profession. I stepped away in 2025 to concentrate on my own practice.
Media, podcasts and speaking
I talk and write publicly about hormonal issues, menopause, POI, fertility and the ways neurodivergence intersects with all of them, because the more openly these subjects are discussed, the fewer people discover far too late that help existed. I’m available for interviews, expert comment, podcasts, panels and workplace talks.
- Clearly ClinicalBrains and Bodies: Neurodivergence and Hormonal Change Across the AFAB Lifespan (Episode 261)
- Clearly ClinicalMind, Mood and Menopause: Understanding Hormonal Transitions in Mental Health Care (Episode 232)
- Verve HealthcareThe Unseen Impact of Menopause on Work: Unlocking Workplace Wellbeing
- DisorderedAnxiety and Menopause with Helen Bennett (Episode 44)
- SELFHow to Cope If Your Anxiety Is Making Menopause Feel So Much Worse
- HuffPost UKWhat’s a Menopause Party? Here’s Why Experts Say They’re So Important
- Valigia BluWhat To Know To Best Deal With Menopause
Accreditations, memberships and training
BACP: Accredited Member (MBACP Accred). I work to the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions.
EMCC Global and EMCC UK: Accredited Coach at Senior Practitioner level.
Qualifications and training
- Postgraduate Advanced Diploma (Level 7), Senior Practitioner in Coaching
- Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Advanced Certificate in Clinical Supervision, including online and telephone working
- Certificate in Counselling Skills
- Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling
- British Menopause Society: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Menopause Symptoms
- International Menopause Society: IMPART Menopause Training
- National Fertility Society: Advanced Specialist Fertility Counselling Diploma
- Foundation for Infant Loss: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Accredited Practitioner
- Free2BMe: Certificate in Neuroaffirming Practice, and ADHD in the Therapy Room
- The Autistic Advocate: Inside of Autism
- NEDDE: Working with Eating Disorders and Neurodiversity
Ready to start?
If you already know which door you want, head to The Menopause Therapist for counselling and clinical supervision, or The Transition Coach for coaching or coaching supervision. If you don’t, the short guide on my homepage will point you in a sensible direction, or book a call and we’ll work it out together.