Therapy with Aaron Helm

A therapist, a dad, and someone who believes your personality (and mine) is part of what helps you heal.

Schedule a consultation

Hi, I'm Aaron

I'm so glad you found your way here. Before we get into credentials and clinical approach, I want you to know something simpler: I see this work as a calling, and I don't take it lightly that you're considering trusting me with it.

Keep scrolling

There's

Therapy office at Connect to Thrive in Plano, TX

To breathe again

Room here.

My Areas Of Focus

While I work across the full lifespan, clients often seek my help for:

Children & Adolescents

Emotional regulation, behavioral challenges, and attachment security through Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT).

Adults & Young Adults

Navigating complex personality patterns, identity formation, relationship dynamics, and life transitions.

Addiction & Recovery

Unpacking the root relational, emotional, and attachment drivers behind addictive behaviors.

Men's Issues & Career Transitions

Processing burnout, identity outside of work, and non-traditional career paths.

What Guides Me

My Clinical Approach & Modalities

Mother and son hugging. Attachment theory by Aaron Helm Therapy

Relational, Attachment-Based, and Person-Centered Therapy

I bring myself fully into the room with you, my honest reactions, my real presence, not a blank slate. My approach combines relational psychodynamic, attachment-based, and person-centered therapy. This means the relationship between us isn't just the backdrop for the work, it's part of how the work actually happens.

Two men facing one another talking. Therapy with Aaron Helm

What I Mean by "Relational Equity"

Trust gets built deliberately here. I call this building relational equity, creating a relationship strong enough to hold total honesty, even when it's hard. Once we have that foundation, I don't avoid the hard conversations, and I won't ask you to either.

Native Americans dancing at PowWow. Indigenous informed mental health care.

Indigenous & Culturally-Informed Care

I'm a tribal citizen of the Chahta (Choctaw) Nation, and that heritage quietly shapes how I show up in this work. Values like unity, holistic thinking, and gratitude inform my approach, alongside a healthy skepticism toward treating every struggle as something to diagnose and fix in isolation. You won't hear me lecture about this in session, you'll simply feel it in how I hold space.

Degrees, Clinical Training, & Supervision

Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Amberton University

A Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Amberton University, grounding everything I do in this work.

Master of Business Administration (MBA), East Texas A&M University

An MBA from East Texas A&M University that shapes how I run this practice as much as how I show up in session.

Aaron Helm is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC Associate) in the State of Texas, practicing under the clinical supervision of Katherine "Katie" Dunham, MS, LPC-Supervisor, at Connect to Thrive in Plano, TX.

Clinical Training: Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) under Dr. Josh Hawkins

Specialized training in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) under Dr. Josh Hawkins, the foundation for how I work with kids.

Clinical Practicum: Aletheia Therapy (focus on relational psychodynamic depth work)

Trained at Aletheia Therapy, where relational psychodynamic depth work became the core of my approach.

Why I Do This Work: My Path to Counseling

Transitioning from Business to Mental Health

My path into this field has felt less like a career change and more like a long journey home. I always knew I wanted a profession built around helping people think deeply and live exceptionally. It just took me a while to find the right fit.

After undergrad, I pursued an MBA thinking I could do that work through business and non-profit ventures. While some people genuinely do good in that world, the corporate route was draining for me, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Before transitioning into counseling, I worked in finance and operations at a Dallas-area college (eventually serving as Director of Alumni and Operational Efficiency) and later as Director of Marketing and Operations at Aletheia Therapy. Getting an inside look at clinical case conceptualization before I even graduated gave me an unconventional background, but it made me a far more grounded therapist.

Finding My Calling in Therapy

After finishing my MBA, I enrolled in a master's program for Clinical Mental Health Counseling. One class in, I knew I'd found my field. Therapy lets me go places with people that most relationships never reach. Sitting with clients as they heal from real pain, and watching them actually start to thrive, is the most life-giving work I know.

Life Beyond the Therapy Room

Aaron Helm family. Therapy with Aaron Helm

Image of downtown new york city. Therapy with Aaron Helm

Photo of crime and punishment book. Therapy with Aaron Helm

Family & Fatherhood

When I'm not in session, I'm usually home with my wife and our daughter. Being a dad has taught me more about attachment and patience than any textbook ever could. I understand the biting, the screaming, and the tears, not just clinically, but as a parent living it in real time.

Creative Pursuits & Videography

I'm a creative at heart and love making things that bring people joy. I shoot video on a Sony FX3 and stills on a Fujifilm X100VI (with a Sony FX6, Leica, or Hasselblad on the wishlist).

Avid Reader & Lifelong Learner

I'm the kind of person who'll go from Dostoevsky to Steinbeck to The Iliad in the same month, and genuinely can't get enough of it. I'm drawn to philosophy, especially questions around time, consciousness, and theology, and I love hearing a new idea or perspective that makes me think differently about life, culture, or existence. That same curiosity shows up in the therapy room. I believe every client has real potential waiting to be uncovered, and I'll challenge you to think differently, notice what you might be missing, and step outside your comfort zone, always grounded in care and respect.

Frequently Asked Questions

A few things people usually want to know before reaching out. If you don't see your question here, feel free to ask during your free consultation.

What areas do you serve?

I provide in-person therapy at Connect to Thrive in Plano, TX, serving clients across Plano and Collin County, including Frisco, Allen, and McKinney, as well as online therapy for residents anywhere in Texas.

What age groups do you treat?

I work across the full lifespan, offering Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) for young children, as well as individual counseling for teens, adults, and parents.

Do you accept insurance?

No, I operate on a private-pay basis. I can provide a superbill for potential out-of-network reimbursement, and I accept HSA and FSA cards.

Why do you focus on relational psychodynamic work with adults?

I believe there's never a moment in our existence where we're not in relationship, to another person, to our environment, or to ourselves. From the very beginning of life to the end of it, relationship is the constant. And I think relationship is also what heals us. It's how wounds get tended to, and how we make meaning out of our scars, instead of just carrying them.

Real relationship asks something of both people in the room. So when you work with me, I'm not just a sounding board nodding along while you talk. I bring myself into it too, my honest reactions, my real presence, and we work through the complexity of your life together, not from opposite sides of the room, but actually in it with each other.

How long does therapy typically take?

Every client's timeline is different. Some come for focused, short-term work, others for longer, deeper relational work. We'll check in regularly on progress and adjust the pace together.