When you find yourself holding back, staying small, or stuck in familiar patterns
I work with people who feel stuck in long-standing patterns—often shaped by earlier relationships, experiences of control, neglect, or not being heard.
You may find yourself overthinking, withdrawing, struggling to set boundaries, or feeling “too much” or “not enough” in relationships. You might recognise a pattern of holding yourself back, adapting to others, or losing sight of what you need. These patterns are not random—they make sense in the context of your life.
My work focuses on helping you understand these patterns and create meaningful, lasting change.
How I can help
I often work with people who:
- Feel they hold themselves back or “stay small”
- Struggle to speak up or assert themselves
- Over-adapt to others or feel responsible for others’ emotions
- Find themselves repeating patterns in relationships
- Experience anxiety that feels persistent or difficult to explain
- Have a history of difficult, controlling, or emotionally unavailable relationships
Together, we work to understand how these patterns developed, what they are protecting, and how you can begin to move forward differently.
My approach
My approach is grounded in making sense of your experience. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, we look at how your current difficulties have developed over time—how earlier experiences may have shaped the ways you think, feel, and relate to others now.
I work in an integrative way, drawing on approaches such as EMDR, cognitive and compassion-focused therapies. These are used within a collaborative, relational process, where the focus is on understanding, as well as managing.
Therapy with me is not about quick fixes. It is about developing insight, building internal stability, and creating change that lasts.
Dr Helen Blake
I am a Chartered Counselling and Occupational Psychologist with over 25 years’ experience, working across both clinical and organisational settings. I am HCPC registered and an accredited EMDR practitioner.
Alongside my clinical work, I have a background in occupational psychology, which means I bring an understanding of how people’s difficulties are shaped not only by their personal history, but also by the environments and relationships around them.
In therapy, I focus on helping people make sense of patterns that feel stuck or hard to change—particularly those rooted in earlier experiences and relationships. My approach is thoughtful, collaborative, and grounded in psychological understanding, rather than quick solutions.
Clients often tell me they feel understood, able to slow things down, and better able to make sense of themselves and their experiences.
