PSYCHOTHERAPY

Educated at Harvard College and George Washington University, I have been privileged to know many people in a deep way, as they have shared their lives and their most important feelings with me.  The quality of our relationship is the most important factor for a successful outcome, according to growing research evidence. It’s more important than any theory about therapy. I will work to create a caring, empathic, thoughtful relationship with you, so that we can work together to understand your feelings, patterns of relationships and any problems that arise. My choice to become a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst was a good one, as I enjoy the work very much. I am dedicated to finding ways to be useful to you in solving your problems. Together we can make a difference in your relationships and your work life, as you learn more about what is causing you trouble.  We both will learn and grow through understanding your experiences.

When I decided to become a psychotherapist, and later on to do the many years of training needed to become a psychoanalyst, too, I had no idea how enriching it would be for me personally, and how it would help me on my own journey. I have learned that deep relationships are helpful for all of us. I am available both in person and by phone, FaceTime, or Skype in case you cannot make it into the office because of illness, traffic or too much work to spend extra time driving. I also am licensed in five states, making it possible to work with you in DC, MD, FL, and WA, in addition to Virginia Beach. I can speak with employees of the federal government anywhere in the world.

HOW WILL PSYCHOTHERAPY HELP?

If you have tried many approaches to solve a specific problem without getting the results you wanted, psychotherapy can help.  I will work with you to achieve your goals either in brief or long-term therapy, whichever you choose.

Good psychotherapy gives a sense of balance and steadiness that can make you more comfortable with increased confidence and self-esteem.  Good therapy can help use your talents creatively and efficiently. Your relationships can gain in depth and you will continue to keep learning and growing after therapy is over.

I can help you learn more about:

  • Building Relationships
  • Developing Self Confidence
  • Assimilating Loss Creatively
  • Overcoming Loneliness
  • Assimilating Trauma in a Healthy Way

Therapy can help you feel more comfortable through deeper understanding of your feelings and inner life.  Together we will learn about your feelings as they are triggered by events and what is happening in your relationships. We will create the therapy together so that it will fit your individual needs.

I have had a lot of experience working with people who struggle with high levels of anxiety.   I am able to provide a calm, thoughtful atmosphere that helps people cope stress and upsetting feelings.  As we think together, you will develop a steadier frame of mind over time and feel much more in control as you cope with the inevitable challenges of life.

Difficult relationships provide another opportunity. I can helping you understand more about unconscious communication and how it operates in all relationships. We can discuss it in individual therapy or analysis and you and your partner also can come as a couple.  We can figure out more about the unconscious messages you are sending each other.

Low mood and depression provide a challenge for many people.  Low moods can make it hard to do the things you want to do and get where you want to go, and understanding them are a big part of my work. It’s easy to feel discouraged by the hard knocks of life and trauma of various kinds–either childhood trauma or something terrible that happens in adulthood.  Recent trauma can make it necessary to reorganize your thinking about many different people and even the way you thought the world was. It even takes time to get out of the state of shock, and I can be helpful with your recovery.

Some of your relationships may deepen and you will improve your ability to create new ones. Good relationships with people that you love, and deep interests in your work and hobbies, are the most important things in life. I believe I can be useful to you on your journey.

About Dr. Fonya Helm

I am a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in private practice in Virginia Beach, VA.  I offer psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, couple psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and supervisory consultations, both in my private office and by telephone,  Read More…

Please call or text me at 757-282-3525 or email me at fonya.helm@cox.net with questions or for an appointment. I look forward to hearing from you.

“Love After 60”

Listen to Fonya’s interview on
Smart Money – (MACC-TVCTV)

Recent Blog Posts

HOW PSYCHOANALYSIS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY WORK
TRANSGENERATIONAL HAUNTING
WHY IT IS HARD TO REMEMBER DREAMS?
FOUR WAYS TO EMBRACE THE AGING PROCESS
WHAT IS HYPNOSIS?
HOW CAN OUR DREAMS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND HELP US?
HOW CAN COUPLES BUILD THEIR RELATIONSHIP?
GOOD LISTENING
HOW CAN THERAPY WORK FOR YOU?
HOW TO FALL IN LOVE
THE HAPPINESS U CURVE
FOUR WAYS TO UNDERSTAND DREAMS
DEVELOPING THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP
LOVE AND THE MATHMATICS OF MARRIAGE
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF DREAMING

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION

February, 2025
San Francisco, CA

 ALTERED STATES OF AWARENESS
 HARRIET TUBMAN

Fonya Lord Helm, PhD, ABPP
Maurine Kelber Kelly, PhD, FIPA            

Annie Lee Jones, PhD will join Fonya Helm, PhD and Maurine Kelly, PhD in a panel discussion of the life of Harriet Tubman and her contributions and achievements, including her work as the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad.  We will discuss the anecdotal reports in books, newspaper articles and letters of her dreams, visions and psychic ability that led to her extraordinary knowledge and experiences.  Participants are welcome join the discussion to present their own clinical vignettes and experiences.

RECENT EVENTS

A CENTURY OF PSYCHOANALYTIC MYSTERY:TELEPATHY IN THE CLINICAL PROCESS

Saturday June 1: 11:30 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday June 2: 11:30 am – 4:00 pm

-Presenters –

Brazil: João Braga
France: Renaud Evrard, Thomas Rabeyron
Hungary: Julia Gyimesi
Israel: Ofra Eshel
United States: Janine de Peyer, Fonya Helm,
Richard Reichbart, Ruth Rosenbaum, Mary Tennes

Click here for program information flyer

AMERICAN PSYCHOANALYTIC ASSOCIATION

February, 2023
New York, New York

ALTERED STATES OF AWARENESS

Fonya Lord Helm, PhD, ABPP
Maurine Kelber Kelly, PhD, FIPA

Neil Helm, PhD a transpersonal psychologist, will present the history of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs), which have occurred for centuries and, his research into present-day NDEs with examples from his interviews with experiencers, and his own near-death experience that took place when he was five years old.

WERA 96.7 FM – LT FM

August, 2022

Hope, Love and Safety

Fonya Lord Helm, PhD, ABPP

INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOTHERAPY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

Fellows Program
Saturday, April 13, 2024
2:00 to 4:00 PM
The Saratoga
Washington, DC

DREAM INTERPRETATION

Fonya Lord Helm, PhD, ABPP

Dreams are amazing creations of the mind that enable us to integrate the most important events and feelings that have occurred during the day or week with … read more

WERA 96.7 FM – LT FM

(Click here to listen to interview)

Finding New Relationships

Interview with Dr. Fonya Helm