Dr Helena
Holmes-McCoid
BSc (Hons), MSc, ClinPsyD, CPsychol
Clinical Psychologist
Dr Helena Holmes-McCoid is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and holds Chartered status with the British Psychological Society (BPS), which formally recognises qualifications to practise psychological therapy to the highest professional and clinical standards.
Welcome to the online home of Flourish Psychological Therapies, a private clinical psychology practice based in the East Riding of Yorkshire (sessions are available in Willerby, HU10, or remotely/online by video appointment).
At Flourish Psychological Therapies, evidence-based therapies are offered through a process of assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation.
About Flourish Psychological
Therapies
Flourish Psychological Therapies is committed to blending evidence-based psychological interventions with compassionate care to address a wide range of mental health concerns and psychological distress. For example:
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The psychological impact of acute or chronic health conditions.
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Depression and low mood.
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Generalised anxiety, health anxiety and social anxiety.
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Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD) .
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Grief and loss.
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Appearance-related distress.
Meet Dr Helena Holmes-McCoid
Hi, I'm Helena. I'm a Clinical Psychologist working with adults of all ages (in the UK).
My approach to therapy is rooted in collaboration, mutual respect and compassion. I appreciate that every person’s story is unique, shaped by their individual experiences, values and hopes for the future. By creating a safe, non-judgmental space, I aim to develop an understanding of what matters to you, what’s been difficult and what kind of change feels meaningful. Together, we can explore new perspectives, build coping strategies, and find ways to foster personal growth and lasting, positive change.
I offer support for a wide range of emotional challenges and forms of distress. I also have specialist expertise in working with individuals recovering from acute illness and those adjusting to life with chronic health conditions. Alongside my private practice, I work within the NHS providing psychological input across long COVID and burn-injury services. This work includes trauma-focused therapy / addressing PTSD, supporting clients as they navigate adjustment to illness, exploration of self-identity / illness-identity, and addressing any of the following: low mood, anxiety, grief or loss after life-changing events, self-criticism / low self-esteem, and appearance-related distress.
I understand that life's challenges can be deeply complex and, at times, overwhelming. My role is to work collaboratively alongside you, to listen deeply, to offer support and to help you identify what you’re feeling. Together, we’ll work towards understanding your sources of distress and developing a way forward that feels both empowering and sustainable.
Finding the right therapist is an important and personal decision. It’s essential that you feel comfortable and connected. If you’d like to learn more about how I work, or see whether we might be a good fit, please don’t hesitate to get in touch for a free 20-minute consultation. This can be an opportunity to ask questions and to get a feel for my therapeutic style.
Our Therapy Approaches
Tailored Support
Each therapy is tailored to address your specific needs, providing a holistic and personalised approach to healing.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a widely utilised talking therapy that helps you understand how thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours are connected. It aims to highlight how the interaction of these experiences impact your wellbeing.
CBT is a structured and goal-focused therapy. This means we’ll decide together what you’d like to work on and build a plan to get there. You’ll often be invited to practise new skills between sessions that help you apply what we talk about into real-life situations.
CBT has a strong evidence base and is recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a range of emotional and psychological difficulties, including:
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – Trauma-Focused CBT
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Depression
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Multiple forms of anxiety / panic
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Specific phobias
Visit the British Association for Behavioural and
Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) (below) to learn more about CBT.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness-based interventions promote present-moment awareness, acceptance, openness and a non-judgemental stance towards internal experiences. This can empower individuals to cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness and well-being.
Mindfulness is about gently turning inward and developing an awareness of what’s happening right now, moment by moment. Willingness to engage with the full spectrum of experience, e.g., noticing rather than avoiding difficult emotions or sensations, helps reduce the struggle with internal experiences and creates greater freedom and choice over our responses.
Over time, practising mindfulness can bring a deeper connection between mind and body. It can reduce stress and enable a more balanced way of relating to yourself and the world around you.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of talking therapy that can help people to live a richer, more meaningful life by focusing on values-based living. It supports you to identify what truly matters most – the kind of person you want to be, the qualities you want to bring to your relationships, and what you wish to prioritise in life.
ACT can be especially helpful for people who feel caught up in difficult internal experiences. For example, painful emotions, distressing thoughts, memories, urges, or physical sensations. Rather than trying to eliminate or control these experiences (which often leads to even more distress), ACT helps you change how you relate to them.
Through the process, you learn to:
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Notice your thoughts, urges and feelings without feeling controlled by them. ACT helps you step back and observe your inner experiences with curiosity, without getting caught in a reactive, resistant or self-judging state.
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Feel less fused to unhelpful thoughts. ACT teaches 'cognitive delusion' - techniques to see thoughts for what they are, simply words and images that come and go, rather than absolute truths that must dictate behaviour. In essence, ACT offers greater freedom, flexibility and choice about how we respond to thoughts.
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Reconnect with what matters most. By clarifying your personal values, ACT helps you to take small, purposeful steps toward a life that feels authentic and fulfilling, even in the presence of ongoing challenges.
To learn more about ACT, visit Contextual Consulting (below) to download their guide, "An introductory guide to ACT".
Compassion Focused Therapy
CFT
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is an integrated and multimodal therapeutic approach that draws from neuroscience and evolutionary, social, developmental and Buddhist psychology. CFT helps people to cultivate greater self-compassion and a broader compassionate mindset to improve relationships (with others and with the self). CFT focuses on reducing shame and self-criticism.
Shame and self-criticism often have deep roots in our early experiences. When someone has grown up in an environment where there was abuse, bullying, high levels of conflict, neglect, or a lack of warmth and affection, it can have a lasting impact on how they see themselves and others.
People who have had experiences like these can become especially sensitive to signs of rejection, criticism, or disapproval. This can then quickly lead to strong patterns of self-blame or self-attack.
CFT can help by creating a safe space to understand these patterns from a compassion viewpoint, and to begin developing kinder, more supportive ways of relating to yourself and others.
Visit the Compassionate Mind Foundation (below) to learn more about CFT.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I book a session?
Please complete the "Contact" section below. Alternatively, send a direct message by email to
helena-holmes-mccoid@protonmail.com.
We can then arrange a free, 15-minute consultation by telephone.
How many sessions will I need?
The number of sessions will depend on the nature of the difficulties you're experiencing and the type of therapeutic approach selected. However, we will agree an initial number of sessions and regularly review your progress. Often, once therapy starts, new issues can arise that you may then wish to explore further. Although, it is also possible that you may see an improvement faster than you expected.
Do you offer mental health crisis support?
Please note that I do not work in private practice on a full-time basis. I am therefore unable to offer crisis support. If you feel you are in crisis and require immediate support, or are struggling to keep yourself safe, you can contact NHS 111 (Option 2) to access local crisis options, or 999 in an emergency. You can also request an urgent GP appointment.
What will the sessions look like?
Sessions usually last 60 minutes, unless otherwise agreed. The first few sessions will begin by exploring the reasons that have brought you to therapy. This is called the assessment phase. We will discuss your difficulties and what you would like to achieve. This time allows me to get to know you, including hearing about your strengths, hopes and values – not just your difficulties. In the next stage of therapy, we develop what is called a “psychological formulation” – a shared understanding of your history, current situation, difficulties, strengths, behaviours and emotional experiences. You can read more about the process of psychological formulation here. The formulation stage helps to identify a suitable therapeutic approach (intervention), tailored to your needs and specific goals. The final stage of therapy involves assessing the outcome of our work together (evaluation). Put simply, we'll consider whether your therapeutic goals have been met and discuss your readiness for ending therapy. We may complete brief questionnaires at the beginning and end of therapy to track your progress and therapeutic change.
Are sessions confidential?
Please be reassured that what you share in therapy remains confidential. This means that our sessions are a safe and private space for you to talk openly about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences, without fear of your information being shared.
Everything you discuss stays between us, except in very specific situations where I have a legal or ethical duty to share information to keep you or someone else safe. These situations might include:
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If I believe that you, or someone else, is at serious risk of harm.
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If I am required by law to disclose information (for example, relating to certain criminal offences or court orders).
If such a situation ever arose, I would always do my best to discuss it with you first, explain what might need to be shared, and who I would need to speak with. My aim is to be as open and transparent as possible, so you feel informed and respected every step of the way.
Contact
Working Hours
Mondays:
Alternate weekly hours, as below.
Monday (week one) - 9:30am-8:00pm
Monday (week two) - 6:30pm-8:00pm
Thursdays:
Weekly - 6:30pm-8:00pm
Saturdays / Sundays:
Weekend availability.
Please submit requests using the form above.
Please Note:
I work on a part-time basis. Please therefore allow 72 hours for a response to email enquiries.
Kindly check your spam/junk email folder if you have not received a response within three days.