Email: helenbohme@gmail.com

Childhood loss and abandonment has been a thread that has weaved itself through generations of Helen’s family and the tapestry of her life. As a social constructionist, she recognises how these family stories provide context, history and the engine that has driven her doctoral research endeavour.  Studying at depth made her realise that this gravitational pull of history has held her in one particular orbit that has shaped and formed both meaning and language in her personal and professional life. It has inculcated a passionate desire to find families for dislocated children; make a career in social work and then as a family therapist… And to marry a man who lost his father as a baby and his homeland by the age of seven. 

She had qualified as a social worker and spent 25 years working with children and families in a Local Authority Social Services Department wherein, she had managed and developed an Adoption and Family Placement Service. Her experience shaped her into a facilitator of dialogical conversations in whatever context or role -be it manager, supervisor, therapist, partner or friend. She sees this as a philosophical approach, based on a value system and borne out of a lifetime of reflexive practice. 

In the 1990’s a serious illness and a brief acquaintance with the idea of her dying connected her to a sense of a spiritual self; and a deeper understanding of her own life and values. This enabled her to leave social work and train as a therapist. This experience also later paved the way and instigated six years in a Bereavement Service, working therapeutically with children and young people. Dealing with issues of death and loss with children helped her to develop a spontaneous practice that matched and engaged the unique nature of each child. In turn this led to Art Therapy training so that she could work with children (and adults) using a range of media, symbolically to add to -or instead of- words. Whilst studying for a Masters’ Degree in Couple Therapy she encountered not only systemic ideas but also a narrative perspective, which for her, felt like coming home. 

She has been a counsellor in a General Medical Practice; and with an Inter-diocesan Counselling Service, counseling Church of England clergy and their families. For 23 years she worked in a Licensed Fertility Clinic with people who were using donated gametes (eggs, sperm, embryos, and/or surrogacy) to create a family. She has a private practice in her own home. She is a mentor to Doctoral Students and has had articles published in professional journals.