My 13 year old son was struggling physically and emotionally with an acute flare-up of Gastritis/IBS so we needed to find a way for him to navigate this episode and develop skills to cope with the future ups and downs of chronic illness. We met Helen through a personal recommendation from a healthcare professional who was involved in my son’s care and we instantly ‘clicked’ with her. Helen’s background in education was a huge bonus for us alongside her extensive professional qualifications. My son felt comfortable to have 1:1 sessions with Helen from the start and then the three of us has a debrief at the end. The most important parts for my son were that he trusted Helen, she gave him very practical tools that worked for him as a very logical thinker, she didn’t promise that it would all go away but rather that he had his ‘toolkit’ to work through the difficult times. The regular initial sessions were key in gaining momentum and as his confidence grew and his anxiety settled, he saw that this toolkit could be used in other situations which illustrates both his growth through all of this and the day-to-day practical application of the skills he learnt.
