Therapists in Saint Louis, MO

I specialize in working with adults living with anxiety and/or struggles in their relationships (familial, romantic, platonic, occupational). Breast cancer survivorship is an area of specialty. Together we co-construct an approach that fits your needs, balancing the practical with exploratory. I believe that it is through self-exploration that you become aware of your stuck points whether in problematic and/or unfulfilling behavior, relationships, jobs, or experiences.

"There is nothing you can tell me that won't strike me as beautiful and human" -Cheryl Strayed. Major life changes, invalidating home/social lives, past trauma, and current stressors affect moods, behaviors, and relationships, often leaving us repeating unhelpful patterns. When our attempts to cope with and repair issues no longer work, it's time to seek therapy. I will collaborate with you and provide a warm, safe, nonjudgmental space so you feel supported while you develop interpersonal skills, learn to manage emotions, strengthen relationships, and improve self-awareness so you can make changes toward living the life you desire.

Dr. Helen Friedman is a compassionate and interactive clinical psychologist with 10 years of additional formal training after her Ph.D. and 41 years in practice. She works with anxiety, stress, depression, grief, divorce, sexual and relationship issues. Specialty areas are child sexual abuse (children, adults, victims and perpetrators), compulsive sexual behavior (including porn addiction and partners), dissociative identity disorder, and gender identity. Trained in a variety of therapeutic modalities (family systems, psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, gestalt, etc.), she tailors her approach to the individual, couple, or family.

Understanding Minds provides trusted, confidential, and comprehensive mental health services. Our supportive team of providers take a proactive approach with assessment, collaborative treatment planning, progress review, and validated approaches to make progress achievable. Your needs are important to us, and we strive to offer the best possible experience in mental healthcare. This is why we have administrative staff available to assist you 5 days a week and we request feedback from you about your experience and fit with your provider.

We are a diverse group of licensed professionals. We are compassionate, knowledgable and honored to work with individuals, couples, and families. We support our clients to discover their own personal grace and agility, their ability to express themselves with integrity and conviction and most importantly to restore their faith in themselves and in their relationships.

I went into the field of psychology because I love helping people transform to the best version of themselves. We all need a safe place to understand ourselves and how we relate to others/self. I often say "We need to be Mindful of our Total-Well Being and that our minds and our bodies are an inter-connected systems. Where the mind goes, so does the man or woman in their actions and body states. We go to the physician for our physical health, so how much healthier would we be if we went to our psychologist for our mental health?" At heart, I am a holistic practitioner and love seeing my clients Thrive.