"We don't heal in isolation,
we heal in connection"
Esther Perel
BEP Therapy was founded by Helen Eyley-Aboda to help people find the resources they need to reduce their distress, to be better able to cope with the challenges of life and to find balance, empowerment and purpose.
Read our Mission, Vision and Values for more details.
Helen Eyley-Aboda
Counsellor & Psychotherapist
My approach is humanistic, mainly informed by existential therapy, although I also draw on Transactional Analysis and Gestalt therapies. Existential therapy is informed by philosophy, which means that I’m concerned with the issues that arise from being human – such as anxiety, death, uncertainty, meaning and authenticity, or being comfortable to be yourself.
I know there are some things in life we can’t change, but with self-awareness and compassion, we can begin to change the way we respond to them. Together, we can explore your sense of place in the world, look at the expectations you feel have been put on you, and think about what you might want to shift so that you can live in a way that feels more aligned with your own values.
I see the therapeutic relationship itself as an important part of healing. How we relate to one another in the therapy room often reflects how you relate to other people in your life. By noticing these patterns together, we can gently explore whether they are still helping you, or whether it’s time to let go of them and try something new.
It matters to me that you feel able to bring your whole self into therapy—even the parts you may find hard to acknowledge or accept. I will listen with warmth, empathy, and without judgement, so that together we can make space for those parts of you and allow you to move towards greater self-acceptance.
In our work, my role is to support you in connecting with your own strength, resilience, and inner resources. This can help ease distress and open up the possibility of moving towards a life that feels more meaningful to you.
My approach can be helpful for a wide range of experiences, including bereavement and loss, illness, life transitions (such as perimenopause or midlife changes), relationship difficulties, stress, anxiety, depression and low mood, struggles with self-confidence or self-esteem, and questions of life purpose, meaning, and identity.
Training and experience
I hold a post-graduate diploma in humanistic counselling and psychotherapy (level 7) from the University of Brighton. This qualifies me to work with adults.
Alongside my private practice, I work as a volunteer counsellor at the Hospice in the Weald providing counselling to people who are supporting a friend or family member through terminal illness or who have been bereaved.
I have also volunteered with West Kent Mind’s Solace Café providing crisis prevention support to people with complex needs, including ADHD, severe autism, borderline personality disorder and bipolar.
Before training as a counsellor, I spent more than 25 years working in marketing and PR in the private, public and charitable sectors. This means I understand the stress and anxiety that comes from a large workload, competing priorities, work politics, tight deadlines and trying to achieve a work-life balance. I also have a wealth of life experience, which I'm able to draw on in our sessions.
Safeguarding professional standards
I am a registered member of the BACP and follow their ethical framework to ensure I work safely and responsibly. Alongside this, I engage in regular supervision to strengthen my practice and keep your wellbeing at the centre of our work together.
