Who works at The Helpful Clinic?
Any successful journey requires a strong and committed crew, with skilled experts in each role. The Helpful Clinic is no exception!
Thor A Rain
MA (hons) Dip.Clin.Hyp.NLP.Coach.EFT
Health Activist | Trainer |Pain and Fatigue specialist

Founder of the Helpful Clinic, Thor is dedicated to compassion and a no-nonsense approach to your wellbeing and health.
For over a decade, Thor has helped hundreds of people to deal with stress and manage and improve their physical, mental and social health. They are uniquely qualified to do so, having themselves recovered from ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, diagnoses given by their doctor in 2003, along with the prognosis that they would never get well.
Thor did get well. It took seven years. They subsequently trained in a range of complementary therapies, including clinical hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and emotional freedom technique (EFT). This clinical experience, harnessed to academic training and years working in film production and project management, enabled them to pioneer a practical and easy-to-use approach to support health and wellbeing: First Aid for Feelings.
Galvanised by patients’ successes, Thor set up a social enterprise, The Helpful Clinic in 2015.
Read more about Thor’s journey here
The Helpful Team

Neil Johnson
Head organiser
Neil keeps things ticking along for the clinic, from patient enquiries to organising our workshops. Neil is a solid, reliable and efficient chap.

Nicki Hayes
Research and writing partner
Nicki works alongside Thor developing training programmes and their forthcoming book, The First Aid for Feelings Manual. A bit of a word-nerd, there’s nothing Nicki enjoys more than bringing the clinic’s work and stories to life.

James Devonshire
Blogging & content partner
James helps Thor produce the fortnightly blogs, plus other content-related bits & pieces. When he’s not writing, James can be found with his wife & 4 young children on a beach in the Philippines.

Denny the Dog
Chief treat eater
Denny helps teach patience and hope. She’ll often wait for a long time for a treat, and she’s usually rewarded in the end for her patience. Denny also acts as Thor’s personal trainer, taking them out on a walk twice a day, which helps keep Thor mentally, physically & socially fit.
Our advisors and supporters
The Helpful Clinic is supported by an advisory group. This ensures stronger governance and accountability. We take our mission and our role seriously and are committed to working in a transparent and accountable way to ensure that we deliver sustained impact, evidenced through strong measurement methodology and recognised impact measurement systems.

Karina Palyutina
Health enthusiast

Simon Hannah
Clinical Exercise Specialist

Jenny Wade
Independent Leadership Consultant
Jen sadly passed away in spring 2020 after being with THC from the start. You can read more about Jen’s contribution to our Helpful mission here.

Cambridge Social Ventures
We are graduates of Cambridge Social Ventures: supporting business making social or environmental impact.

Allia
We are proud to work with Allia Future Business Centre and appreciate their sponsorship and support.
Our memberships

CNHC
Member
CNHC is the voluntary regulator for complementary therapists in the UK.

AAMET
Member
AAMET supports skilful, creative and ethical application of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques).

ANLP
Member
ANLP promotes the positive benefits of NLP delivered in a professional, responsible and congruent way.

Social Enterprise UK
Member
Social Enterprise UK is the national body for social enterprise – business with a social or environmental mission