Henk Helsper

Dr Henricus (Henk) Helsper is a Dutch-born man who has made it his life’s mission to help other people heal themselves. He has two sayings which resonate deeply with him: “The only master in this world is within yourself” and “Your truth is yours alone”.  Henk knew very early in life that he would live outside his native Netherlands, and by the age of 14 had already decided that he wanted to pursue learning in Chinese medicine.  Although Henk has lived and worked around the world, post-Covid he has made the greater Hua Hin area his full-time home, and focused on his rehabilitation centre, AmanTiya, located in Sam Roi Yot, a 40-minute drive south of the city centre.

Henk is open-minded, hard-working and ambitious for continued personal growth. Of course, business success is important, but not at the price of personal happiness or the glow of satisfaction that surges in Henk each time a patient is able to leave AmanTiya, having resumed control of their lives. Many times, Henk has been told that his care has saved people’s lives, or taught them something invaluable.

For Henk, Hua Hin, and in particular Sam Roi Yot, named for its striking coastal landscape of 300 spires, offers the perfect way of life, outdoor living. Henk is not at all fond of what he calls “living in a box” – an enclosed space, artificially warmed or cooled, then travelling to work in a box on wheels to spend your day in yet another box! Henk has a roof over his head as the tropical climate dictates, but lives in the open air as much as possible, finding the link to the natural environment a powerful positive stimulus. Even as a child, Henk felt the urge to immerse himself in the outdoors, walking in the woods near his home, alone, with only Robin, his large black and tan Gordon Setter for company.

Henk was child number five in a Catholic family of six children, with three older sisters, a brother barely a year older than him,and a younger sister, all children born in the space of a mere five years. To say the Helsper children were well known in the local community and to the local school is an understatement. In his early years, Henk’s mother dressed her sons in matching outfits, something Henk did not enjoy as he valued his individuality and did not want to be considered the twin of his brother, who he quickly matched in size.  By the time Henk was school age, the Helsper children already had a reputation for being rebellious, thanks to his older siblings. 

Up until his teen years, Henk was an obedient student but his high school experience was not as positive. Henk’s mother had trained as a teacher but was not allowed to continue teaching once she married, while his father was an aerodynamics engineer who ran a business with several thousand employees.  Luckily for Henk, his father was quite an influential figure, as his vouching for his son was the only thing that saw Henk able to finish his school education, after finding himself expelled from two schools and in need of a third. Henk felt judged by reputation and disrespected by certain teachers and this led to verbal confrontations where Henk did not hold back, particularly as he firmly believed he was not the one at fault.  The impact of having to find new schools was that Henk didn’t have a happy time in the last few years of his school life, stuck in a cohort of class mates who were two or more years his junior, considered by him as children, with childish interests still, while he felt himself to already be a man, albeit a young one.

It has taken many years of study, interspersed with much hands-on experience, for Henk to be the consummate Chinese medical practitioner he is now.  His first course of study was in physical therapy, then he had hoped to study Chinese medicine in the United States but was thwarted when his wife resisted the move.  Henk then continued his study in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, qualifying as an osteopath, under the tutelage of some of the world’s most well-respected teachers.  As an energetic young man, Henk worked in paid employment from 6.30am until 9pm on three days a week to study on the other four days. Eventually, following his divorce, Henk was able to undertake his study of Chinese medicine starting in Belgium and finishing as a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine with specialisation in acupuncture at the Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between 1995 and 1998, finally achieving his childhood dream. In Beijing Henk experienced a feeling of being home which was totally new to him.

So, Henk’s training is broad, in both western-based therapy as well as traditional Chinese herbal medicine and was undertaken across more than 15 years. His focus with the patients at AmanTiya is on the whole individual and not just the symptoms or diagnoses with which they present. For this reason, Henk is the medical director who oversees a cross-disciplinary team of six treatment professionals including a nurse, a counsellor, a yoga teacher, a psychotherapist, a personal trainer and a physiotherapist. Should further specialists be required, Henk is able to arrange their services as well. Patients with a wide range of chronic or long-term conditions choose AmanTiya for their rehabilitation and recovery, including those suffering from burn-out, asthma, long Covid, colitis, cluster headaches/migraines and more.

Henk uses his own unique method of treatment, called the Yuan Method, which he originally applied to Qi Gong and acupuncture. This method works from the energetic core of a person to enhance their self-healing ability. The method is also applicable to other areas of therapy such as osteopathy and for individual growth, not as a strict guideline but as a toolbox that leaves room for personal input. Henk sees the Yuan Method as his greatest life achievement so far, because he believes it can turn people’s energy around 180 degrees. Provided the patient desires to heal and has not embedded being sick into their understanding of their “normal” life, Henk will admit them to AmanTiya when he is at least 90% sure that they will experience significant improvement in their life as a result of the treatment. The treatment works best when patients still retain some fighting spirit. The rehabilitation resort has a limit of eight patients at any one time to ensure high quality, personalised treatment.

Optimistic about the future, Henk is still enough of a realist to understand that the world is likely to face a correction, as people have become too acclimatised to luxury they don’t appreciate.  According to Henk, decadence has just about reached its pinnacle. People need to learn to look within for happiness rather than seeking it in wealth, possessions or through social media. Henk’s strength lies in his constant desire to better himself. His sensitivity is both a strength and a weakness: it makes him a good therapist at the same time as it leaves him open to negative influences. Henk has spent a long time travelling to foreign shores to teach his Method, since “to teach is to learn”, so his biggest hope for the future is to see it disseminated more widely so that more patients can access it.  Henk cited one patient, only 35 years old, who had been bedridden with burnout for five years, who, with three months of care, was able to resume a normal life. Henk uses the analogy of a damaged house to clearly explain the theory underpinning the Yuan Method. Rather than call in a plumber, a carpenter and an electrician to address the problems, his method goes straight back to the core, to the architect who created the house design in the first place. It is a more swift, powerful and efficient way of working, according to Henk, who is proud he has been able to get in touch with his energy and then use it productively. Putting people properly in touch with themselves is a sure-fire was to make people happy.

At home in Sam Roi Yot, Henk’s own garden has taken the place of the woods of his childhood. Henk likes to spend his free time working in the garden, to relax. He has a profound admiration for his Indonesian wife Dewi, who is always cheerful, laughing and positive, with a resilience which is inspirational.  Henk’s one regular guilty pleasure is riding his motorcycle, which he often admits to doing without a helmet, despite the known risks. Told a doctor should know better, Henk had a rueful smile but no contrition.

Henk draws his inner tranquillity from his favourite place in the world, the beach at Sam Roi Yot, where he walks his three rescue dogs and admires the birds and the scurrying squirrels he spies in the trees. Henk is thankful for each extra day of life, as he is still penning educational texts to help his staff practice his Method more profoundly.  There is still too much for Henk to do and for him to contribute, to contemplate retirement any time soon.