The journey continues

Tommy Hellsten is an author and therapist with more than forty years of experience. Hellsten’s work is based on a synthesis of psychoanalytical thought, Christianity, and the 12-step program. He regards his training at Hazelden in Minnesota and the Caron Foundation in Pennsylvania as the most significant influences in his professional life. Above all, however, he draws on his own life experience. Continue >>

Learning to listen

When I saw my first client as a therapist more than forty years ago, I thought they needed me to solve a problem. I knew that I wasn’t capable of solving anyone’s problems, so I strove to create the right impression.

I wanted very much to prove that I was a “good therapist,” because I knew that I wasn’t. At the time, I had little professional experience as a therapist, and my life experience wasn’t extensive either. Continue >>

 A happy man at last

Some time ago, I needed to scan through old magazine articles on my life and career. One of these articles was titled “Expert in Pain and Suffering,” and this gave me pause. Am I really a specialist in suffering? It’s true that I have devoted the greater part of my life to learning about pain and suffering, but do I really wish for my name to be associated with the agony of life?
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Finding the words

Mornings are author and therapist Tommy Hellsten’s favorite time of the day. He likes to light a candle and take a little moment for himself for meditation or prayer.

He loves to ponder the big questions of life, which is why often he calls himself a “professional wonderer.”

“My mission is to put into words what cannot be described, in a language that people truly understand,” Hellsten says. Continue >>