About me
Sometimes life can feel more difficult than usual and we can struggle to make sense of what's going on. Maybe we've experienced a relationship breakdown, the loss of a loved one, a change of personal circumstances and sharing these difficult thoughts and feelings with someone outside of our friends and family group may seem like a positive step.
I am Karen, an experienced BACP registered Therapeutic Counsellor. I offer a warm, safe and supported environment in which you can take time to share what's happening in your life without fear of judgment, in a space where I will listen and make sure I understand what you're experiencing. Together we can then start to make steps towards a positive change.
Taking the first steps to ask for help can be difficult and my experience has taught me that the relationship between the client and therapist is fundamental to positive change and I therefore offer the first session with no obligation to continue. This session is charged at £35.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have a CPCAB Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.
My mode of work is primarily Person Centred which means I put each client at the heart of the work we do together. I do not offer advice but believe that each client is the expert of his or her own world and we all have within us the ability to make the right choices and fulfil our potential, when we understand and value ourselves.
My experience has led me to understand that clients generally know what's best for them, this means my role is to explore and tease out issues which are perhaps lurking in the background, which then helps us gain a greater understanding and in turn helps the client to make informed choices.
This process of exploration on which we may embark together can enable us to understand how past events might have influenced and sometimes hindered our present life experience, which can be a way of breaking away from sometimes repeated cycles of unhelpful patterns of behaviour.
I currently work in private practice in the centre of Bishops Stortford and also for a bereavement organisation.
I also have experience of counselling for Helen Rollason Cancer charity, working 1:1 with cancer patients and their family and carers
I work with adults age 18 and above.
Member organisations

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
BACP is one of the UK’s largest professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy. Therapists registered with the Association fall into a number of different membership categories such as Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP and Registered Member MBACP (Accred), each standing for different levels of training and experience. MBACP (Accred) and MBACP (Snr Accred) members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association.
Registered members can be found on the BACP Register, which was the first register to achieve Accredited Voluntary Register status issued by the Professional Standards Authority. Individual Members will have completed an appropriate counselling and/or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but will not appear on the BACP Register until they've progressed to Registered Member MBACP status.
All members are bound by a Code of Ethics & Practice and a Complaints Procedure. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.
Accredited register membership

Accredited Register Scheme
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.

Areas of counselling I deal with
Therapies offered
Fees
My sessions are 50 minutes long and my fee is £45 per session. I offer short and long-term work.