Our Team

The SkyeHelps Team

Our team at SkyeHelps is our strength. What began as one woman working alone has grown into a rich community of people who care deeply for those they serve. The SkyeHelps group includes experienced professionals, talented students with unique skills, local leaders, and even a dog.

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Skye McIntyre

Skye McIntyre, Founder and Leader of SkyeHelps

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Click here to see Skye’s profile on Psychology Today

I am Skye McIntyre, the founder and leader of SkyeHelps. I am learning, growing, and changing everyday. The struggles I have endured and the education I have earned combine to make me a very patient, present, and helpful therapist. I currently focus on trauma therapy and clinical supervision.

My experiences are an important part of my education. They shaped me as much or more than any of the formal training I completed, and I believe that the lessons I learned are worth sharing. I learned to listen, I learned compassion and gratitude, and I learned to persevere. I experienced depression, anxiety, and PTSD. I still do. I learned to love deeper, live better, and control my intent. But most of all, I learned to grow!

SkyeHelps is the product of my passion, formal training, and life lessons. It’s where I bring together the raw ingredients that make me who I am. It’s where I find fulfillment by listening to your stories and helping you make sense of them in the context of your other life experiences and the people and world around you. And, because I’ve had to do the same things that I ask you to do, I get it. No, our experiences are not exactly alike. But, they’re more similar than they are different, and I’m also not afraid to listen to you and hear about your specific feelings. You can tell me anything and receive unconditional positive regard in return.

My story helps me be the best counselor I can be. When you choose me, you choose a counselor who:

  • Has compassion and empathy
  • Who listens well and can teach you to listen too
  • Who can help you make a plan for growth
  • Who will hold you accountable but understands your limitations, too

My story includes others

My story is the story of my children, my partnerships, my family, my friends, my education, my patients, and my life’s work. There are many people in my life, and the person I am today was molded, in part, by every person I have come in contact with. After we meet, you, too, will become part of my story.

My story includes formal education

Maybe you have been to counseling before. Maybe you have never been to counseling. Either way, science tells us that the very best outcomes for therapy are based on whether you like your therapist and whether or not you think your therapist likes you. Find a therapist that you genuinely connect with, and find a therapist that has appropriate training for what you need.

A qualified Licensed Professional Counselor, like me, is equipped with the proper therapeutic tools and the clinical knowledge of how to apply those tools on a case-by-case basis. I am creative enough to know that sometimes old tools can be used in new ways. Most importantly, whoever you choose, you also want them to have enough life experience to know that sometimes the fancy tools are no substitute for the simpler methods such as insight, clarity, empathy, and genuine care. Sometimes you just need a hug.

I never stop learning, and I always try to do part of my thinking “outside the box.” The goal, as I see it, is to provide you with the very best counseling experience possible, and that means that I spend a lot of time learning about the tools of my profession and keeping up-to-date with new ideas.

Credentials and Education

Experience

After earning my undergraduate degree in psychology, I worked as a Therapeutic Wilderness Instructor at a boarding school for Oppositional Defiant youth. There, I learned Behavioral Modification and a lot about myself as a leader. In my graduate work, I studied mostly variations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and was very drawn to Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy. During my clinical, internships, and pre-licensure, I accumulated a wide range of clinical experience including working with children and adolescents under psychiatric care, assessing adults for all manner of clinical disorders, and learning to sit with individuals’ traumatic stories.

As I experienced my own trauma and as I heard others’ traumas, I began to see how complex, pervasive, and demanding trauma is on our thoughts, actions, feelings, and beliefs: untangling, rewinding, fast-forwarding, and falling all at the same time, all day every day. Constantly alternating between overwhelmed and completely numb becomes the whirling compass of our everyday existence. I needed to learn to help myself so I could help others.

My experience as a trauma victim has deeply informed my understanding of trauma treatment. My training and personal healing journey utilizing EMDR, IFS, and my own method I call The Tree, has been long, arduous, educational, and rewarding. I’ve done a lot of the hard work so you don’t have to. I figured some stuff out and can help you sort through your stuff too.

I supervise each patient counseled by Bryce Barrett, Ashlynn Rivers, Emily Weller, and Ben Barrett.

Skye’s Pricing

Intake $250.00 Session Fee $175.00

Set up an appointment with Skye.

Julie Helps

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Click here to see Julie’s profile on Psychology Today.

My name is Julie, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Counselor Educator and Supervisor, and a Trauma Therapist. My life experiences, relationships, and education have provided the foundation for my professional and personal growth. 

I was born in Atlanta, GA, but my family lived in Germany most of my childhood. We returned to Fayetteville, GA where I graduated from Fayette Co. High School. After graduating from Berry College, I worked for Delta Air Lines and raised my children. After a very hurtful divorce, I returned to school to study psychology and counseling. 

My world view is through the lens of Humanistic Existential Psychology. This perspective emphasizes the whole person. Humanistic psychology begins with the assumptions that people have free will and are motivated to achieve their highest potential. 

As your therapist, I collaborate with you to explore your feelings and thoughts while tapping into your inner resources as the expert in your own life.  Existential therapy focuses on free will, self-determination, and the search for meaning—often centering on the individual rather than on their symptoms. This approach emphasizes a person’s capacity to choose a response over a reaction. 

Building healthy client/therapist relationships is essential as we collaborate to create change in your life. We will address behavioral patterns that make up your personality. We will have difficult conversations to foster healthy interpersonal relationships. 

Existential therapist Viktor Frankl said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves”. Let’s create the change that allows you to step into living the life you’ve always imagined. 

Credentials and Education

Julie’s Pricing

Intake $250.00 Session Fee $175.00

Set up an appointment with Julie.

Ashlynn Helps

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Click here to see more information about SkyeHelps’ SMART Recovery Group

Click here to see Ashlynn’s profile on PsychologyToday

I’m Ashlynn, and I’m a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor. I have been at SkyeHelps since April of 2022 and am currently under the supervision of Skye McIntyre, LPC, CPCS.

My Therapeutic Journey

My own personal history with addiction and childhood trauma led me into the counseling field. I struggled deeply with feeling isolated and alone. I wondered constantly if it was even possible for life to be different for me. With the encouragement and support of some close friends, I found a counselor who met me with warmth and compassion. She cut through my protective layer of detached professionalism that had pushed me away from the idea of seeing a therapist. For the first time in my life I felt seen through the eyes of someone genuinely curious and compassionate towards me. This first experience with a counselor of my own confirmed for me that I wanted to spend my life making genuine connections with people. Now, as a therapist myself, I continue to see how genuine connection opens the door to self-reflection, curiosity, and change.

My story includes others

My story continues to evolve through the support of my husband, my family, my friends, and through the clients I have had the privilege to learn from and walk alongside. 

My personal story with therapy is evolving, too. When I first started looking for a therapeutic relationship, I met with several different counselors before finding the one that offered me what I needed: someone to listen to me with empathy and meet me with compassion as I poured out my heartache. At another point in my life, I needed someone to offer me tangible tools for memories that I couldn’t shake. And later, I needed someone to challenge me to engage more honestly with myself and evaluate my relationships. What I need from therapy has changed and continues to change as I grow as a person, wife, friend, colleague, and counselor. I am grateful for the many faces that met me at different points in my journey. 

My story includes formal education

I graduated from my Master’s of Science in Clinical Counseling Program in May of 2023 from the University of North Georgia. Through this program I received specialized training in addictions treatment and now facilitate a free addiction recovery support group at our office. I am also trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy which is an evidence-based treatment intervention that’s been shown successful in treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, relationship issues, grief, and more. 

Credentials and Education

  • Bachelor of Arts, Human Services Delivery and Administration
  • Master’s of Science, Clinical Mental Health Counseling
  • APC (Associate Professional Counselor), GA #APC009210
  • Self-Managed Addiction Recovery Management Training, May 2023
  • ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy) Trained, Basic, October 2023

My Approach

My approach to therapy is grounded in the core concepts of Psychoanalytic and Narrative Therapy. This means I aim to explore and process with you your past experiences and offer curiosity to the patterns and beliefs that shape the life you are living now. My approach involves combining tools and techniques from a variety of different streams of thought to meet each person where they are. I often pull from modalities such as Internal Family Systems Therapy, Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. 

I believe that the details of who you are develop out of the template you were raised with, the role models you had, the memories you formed, and the choices you made. My goal as your counselor is to help you gain insight into your habits, your joys, your fears, and your beliefs, as it relates to the meaning and purpose you make from your life. 

I believe there is value in exploring the incrementally small and catastrophically large events that have been woven into your life. By pulling on a thread in one area of your life, you’ll find the connection to others. By bringing awareness to these connections I aim to offer you insight into who you are and who you want to be. Using these tools, I offer you my compassion and curiosity as I accompany you in developing a fulfilling relationship with yourself and with others. 

I mostly enjoy working with:

  • Children ages 10+, teens, and adults
  • Addiction issues
  • Anxiety 
  • Depression
  • Self-Esteem Issues

My Intent as Your Counselor

I believe the counseling relationship is about building connection with yourself with the help of someone who can lay a foundation of trust, safety, curiosity, and compassion. No matter where you are in your life, counseling can help you better know yourself: your values, your passions, your hurts, and your struggles, and better live your life. 

I offer my clients my curiosity, my compassion, and my presence, alongside the therapeutic tools I’ve picked up throughout my experience and education. 

I love working with people who are looking for steadiness in their lives and helping them better understand the parts of themselves that often feel judged, dismissed, or stay hidden away. I know what it feels like to feel stuck, trapped, and overwhelmed. To have someone acknowledge your experience and bear it with you is a powerful thing. Human connection is what the despairing and hidden parts of ourselves need most to find hope. I would love to build a space with you where you feel comfortable to explore, heal, and grow. Wherever you are in your journey, I would love to meet with you exactly there: in the chaos, the calm, and anywhere in between. 

Please reach out to me to schedule a free consultation or join me for SkyeHelps’ SMART Recovery Addictions Group which meets every Wednesday night at 7:00 at our office in Dahlonega and online.

Ashlynn’s Pricing

Intake $250.00 Session Fee $125.00

Set up an appointment with Ashlynn.

Emily Helps 

[email protected]

Click here to see more information about SkyeHelps’ SMART Recovery Group

Click here to see Emily’s profile on Psychology Today

I am Emily Weller, an intern at SkyeHelps Counseling & Wellness working towards my Master’s of Science in Addiction Counseling from the University of North Georgia. Skye McIntyre is my supervisor. I am also a Certified Sex and Intimacy Coach. I enjoy spending time creating stained glass art, listening to reggae music, and cultivating a slow life with my husband and our two cats. 

My approach to counseling is inspired by a simple quote: “Only to the degree that we’ve gotten to know our personal pain, only to the degree that we’ve related with pain at all, will we be fearless enough, brave enough, and enough of a warrior to be willing to feel the pain of others.” ~ Pema Chödrön

I accumulated a lifetime of pain, shame, hurt, and secrets before I began my counseling journey. I never felt like I could be my entire self and there were always parts of me I needed to hide away. I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere, so I found myself in unexpected and difficult situations time and time again. Without boundaries or support, my life became unmanageable and directionless. I continued to feel alone no matter where I went, who I was with, or how I appeared to be. I wanted to feel like my whole self, but to do that, I needed to get to know all my hidden parts. That process has been beautiful, gritty, and worth it. This path was not linear for me, and it continues to evolve and change shape.

Personal counseling allowed me to shine a light on shameful and unknown parts, and get to know myself in a deeply honest way. I finally sat with my pain and learned to relate to it. Through years of intentional seeking and learning, I have regained an exuberance for life by facing myself with truth and self-compassion. The painful experiences I have endured have deepened my ability to love and empathize with people who are hurting, seeking, and feeling lost. My passion is for people struggling with identity, boundaries, addiction, codependency, religious and sexual trauma. Whatever it is you are struggling with or seeking, we can walk through it together.

I have explored the dark and hidden corners of myself so that I can hold space for the entire spectrum of you and your healing. The therapeutic relationship allows us to meet ourselves with a trusted witness. As your witness, your secrets, and shame will not scare me. I will travel with you, and I will support you on your long journey home to your authentic self. Whether you are going through a life transition, feeling confused, alone, or seeking more fulfillment and joy in your life, there is hope. 

In counseling, you can expect me to meet with you with an eclectic strengths-based, person-centered approach. I will meet you with acceptance and empathy as we navigate your inner landscape. My therapeutic approach is determined by your unique needs. You determine how you spend your time in counseling. I pull from various theories and modalities including Person-Centered, IFS, Feminist, Existential and Multicultural therapies. Together we will examine your strengths, values, relationships, patterns, and goals. My hope is to provide a shelter for you as you clarify, explore, dream, and transform. 

Please reach out to me to schedule a free consultation or join me for SkyeHelps’ SMART Recovery Addictions Group which meets every Wednesday night at 7:00 at our office in Dahlonega and online.

Emily’s Pricing

Intake $250.00 Session Fee $125.00

Set up an appointment with Emily.

Ben Helps

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Click here to see Ben’s profile on Psychology Today

I am Ben Barrett: husband, girl dad, volunteer, coach, businessman, and presently, a graduate intern on a journey to complete a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling through Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.  I see patients at SkyeHelps Counseling & Wellness in Dahlonega, Georgia and am under the supervision of Skye McIntyre.

Credentials and Education

  • Current Student: Master of Arts, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Gordon Cornwell Theological Seminary
  • Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing, University of Alabama
  • Certificate of Youth Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary

I mostly enjoy working with:

  • Adults & Adolescents
  • Couples/Relationships
  • Career/Vocation
  • Trauma
  • Integrating spirituality 

My story includes others

My story is the story of my daughter, my wife, my family, my friends, my colleagues, the adolescents I’ve had the privilege of mentoring in my prior career, and the patients I get to help.

My story includes a unique path to a counseling career

I graduated from business school, but it was my time spent volunteering while in business school that played a significant role in my story. I volunteered for a youth mission, and I began to understand everybody’s life presents a unique story. 

After business school, I spent two years in supply chain management and sales. While building relationships with colleagues and clients, I recognized people are more than just transactions. They are potential relationships to be nurtured. 

The last ten years, I was full-time on the frontlines of the youth mission I volunteered for while in business school. My time with Young Life helped me to realize the vastness of the mental health crisis our world is facing. I walked alongside adolescents with trauma, depression, ADHD, anxiety, loneliness, and little hope for their future. During the pandemic, I realized social systems were overwhelmed, so I shifted my focus to Clinical Mental Health Counseling.

My Therapeutic Journey

A few years ago, a Licensed Professional Counselor listened to my whole story. He helped me recognize why I struggled with significant anxiety and led me to practices for coping with fear in everyday life. I had never given myself time to learn about my apprehension, regularly skipped meals, lost sleep, and deficits of self-control. Boundaries in my life were almost non-existent. I over-extended myself in my career, got fearful of the future all the time, and I was left feeling really exhausted from worrying.

My own therapeutic journey helped me set boundaries around diet, rest, and exercise which allow me to thrive. I have a much better sense of self and know how to cope when panic sets in. I’ve learned to set and hold boundaries around my energy which has allowed me to sleep better, manage worry, and become more self-aware. My therapist continues to help me learn and grow. 

My Intent as Your Counselor

That is my hope for clients I get to encounter: I desire to hear your story and help improve your quality of life. I generally begin each therapeutic relationship with Person-Centered Therapy. The intent in this method is to offer presence, unconditional positive regard, and reflective listening in order for you to feel seen, known, and to learn to better know yourself.

The other approach I often utilize is called Internal Family Systems (IFS). IFS is a theory that suggests our mind consists of sub-personalities that make up an internal community or family.  The aim in this technique is to make sure these inner parts are heard. Once these parts of us are understood, they can then work together in order to become Self led. 

Ben’s Pricing

Intake $250.00 Session Fee $100.00

Set up an appointment with Ben.

Nina Helps

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Nina is the SkyeHelps’ Emotional Support Animal. If you enjoy dogs-in-therapy, she can snuggle with you on the couch or lay on the floor. If you don’t enjoy dogs-in-therapy, she is just as happy in her kennel. We can also take Nina with us on a walk-and-talk around town or to the local coffee shop.

Nina is a Micro-Mini Bernedoodle. She is 75% miniture poodle, 25% Bernese Mountain Dog, and 100% pure love. She is bred to be hypo-allergenic, non-shedding, intelligent, kind, and goofy. (Yes, breeding for goofy-ness is a thing.) She loves to snuggle, lick, and take frequent naps throughout the day.

When she’s not at work, Nina enjoys snuggling, licking, and taking frequent naps throughout the day.

Nina’s Pricing

Free snuggles all day