Team - The Helpful Clinic

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.

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.

Read Denny’s views here

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.