Everyone is welcome at Life Solutions Counseling regardless of gender, age, sexuality, disability, faith, race, ethnicity, or culture. Heleen loves to work with clients from all orientations and walks of life. She has a Christian background and worldview, however, out of care and respect for her clients, she will never impose her personal beliefs or opinions onto clients. Even in her Christian faith she holds an ecumenical view that promotes unity among the world’s Christian churches. .

That said, faith or religion is important to many clients and may play a significant role in the healing process for them. So if a client indicates that it is essential for them to include their faith or religious view into counseling, Heleen will be happy to explore that option with them.

Heleen has been working with clients from a Christian worldview for over 20 years. She has been trained first in Biblical Counseling and then also received her MA in Counseling from Western Seminary in Portland Oregon. She is well equipped to help clients explore their own walk of faith but also  aware that each person’s worldview is very individual, shaped by specific experiences that influenced their thinking, beliefs, and behavior. She will therefore only incorporate a client’s faith into the counseling process, if they specifically ask for the inclusion of spiritual/religious interventions or conversations. She will also evaluate to what degree the above mentioned client desires or expects religious integration, through an assessment at the beginning of the session. This evaluation will assess the client’s experience with Christianity, the local church, and with Christian people. It should also evaluate what Christian commitments the client hold that can support his or her clinical work.

Including spirituality into the counseling process has many benefits that have been acknowledged by counselors worldwide. For one, it contributes greatly to self-care as clients tend to surrender difficult situations in prayer and find peace in quiet moments with God.  When it comes to defining mental illness, mental health, and how change happens there had been some disagreements and skepticism between Christians and mental health professionals in the past. Heleen hopes to become an agent of change, together with many other therapists, through integration of professional counseling and spiritual development. She will continue to strive for an ethical blend of faith, the welfare of people, and her professional role as a counselor. 

In 2012 Heleen published a program for Christian women with food-related struggles, called Appetite for Freedom.
It is a video-driven Bible study to help women with food-related struggles such as overeating, stress eating, emotional eating, food addiction, binge eating, bulimia, and anorexia. The study consists of eleven weeks of personal assignments, five days a week, which is based on the Bible and material by well known Christian authors, counselors, and doctors. The workbook can be used on its own, or with the DVD and is especially useful for recovery style small groups at churches or non-profits. She often facilitates small groups specifically for Christian women with food struggles, at her office in Beaverton, or at a local church or school. 

CALL HELEEN AT 503-914-2749  TO FIND OUT IF FAITH-BASED COUNSELING IS A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU