Karen Harrisskitt (BA Hons, BACP Member)
Email meAbout me
Hello, my name is Karen. I offer a trusting, warm and open environment to work therapeutically with you and share a space which provides you with an opportunity to talk in confidence and without judgement. I understand that at times, life can put pressure and strain on anyone and we can struggle to have clarity of thought when things become overbearing.
Working with a counsellor is a helpful experience when you are facing difficulties that may be impacting on your life, relationships or wellbeing. I can offer you support to work through those difficulties. I have experience in working therapeutically with couples, individuals and children. I am able to offer flexible appointment times.
My approach combines psychodynamic, systemic, mentalization, mindfulness and play therapy for children, this means that I can draw from a range of different types of therapies to best support you the client(s) to understand your current situation and how this may be impacting on you. Together, we can explore how you can learn to accept things or make adjustments to move forwards.
I work with individuals and couples for many different reasons, my approach is to draw on the modality which suits your needs best, in a confidential, calm, empathetic, sensitive and respectful way.
Thank you for reading more about me, if you think I may be the right counsellor for you or have any questions please call for a chat or email any questions to me.
If I am not the right counsellor for you I wish you well in finding support, I would encourage you to speak to somebody you can trust to help understand your difficulties.
Training, qualifications & experience
Qualifications
Diploma in Relationship Counselling (Relate)
IAPT Couple Therapy for Depression (Tavistock Relations)
Mentalization-based Therapy for Parenting under Pressure (Tavistock Relations)
Mindfulness Practitioner Teacher Training course (Professional listing on UK Network of Mindfulness Teachers)
BA Hons Degree
L4 Counselling Children (Place2Be - ongoing)
Award in Mental Health Awareness
Helping Skills (Counselling Skills)
Training
Mental Health First Aid (Mind)
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) (Mind)
Mindfulness Practitioner Training programme
Child Protection & Safeguarding
Domestic Violence and Abuse
Mental Health: Awareness
Suicidal Risk and Support
GDPR and personal data handling
Health Advocate training
Professional Bodies
Member of British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Member of Institute of Family Therapy (IAFT)
Listed on UK Network of approved Mindfulness Teachers
Chartered Member of the institute of Personnel and Development (MCIPD)
Member organisations
Areas of counselling I deal with
- Abortion
- Addiction(s)
- Affairs and betrayals
- Alcoholism
- Anger management
- Anxiety
- Attachment disorder
- Bereavement
- Bullying
- Career counselling
- Carer support
- Child related issues
- Depression
- Disabilities
- Discrimination
- Dissociation
- Domestic violence
- Emotional abuse
- Family issues
- Feeling sad
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Infertility
- Loneliness
- Low self-confidence
- Low self-esteem
- Miscarriage
- Panic attacks
- Passive aggressive behaviour
- Physical abuse
- Pregnancy and birth
- Redundancy
- Relationship problems
- Separation and divorce
- Sex problems
- Sexual abuse
- Sexuality
- Stress
- Suicidal thoughts
- Trauma
- Work-related stress
Therapies offered
Fees
Counselling Fees
Individual Counselling - £35 for the Initial Consultation, and thereafter £40 for each session.
Couples Counselling - £40 for the Initial Consultation and £45 for subsequent sessions.
Children's Counselling - £30 for the initial consultation and £35 for subsequent sessions (I am currently able to offer this reduction as I am currently undergoing additional training in this area).
The duration of each session is 50 minutes. I ask that you pay for each session 24 hours in advance by bank transfer or by cash at the start of each session, cancellations are required 24 hours in advance.
Further information
Along with my private practice, I have experience of working within primary care settings as a Psychological Therapist working with individuals who are experiencing difficulties which impact on their wellbeing.
I work within the charity sector as a Relationship Therapist, working with couples experiencing difficulties in their relationship. I also offer specialist work with couples where one or both partners are experiencing depression and with couples where there is high conflict and they share concern about the impact of this on their children. More recently I have begun working voluntarily for Place2Be in primary school, counselling children on a long term basis.
All of my work is supervised and I work within Relate, Place2Be and BACP ethical guidelines, and within the ethical standards of UK network for Mindfulness Teachers.
As a counsellor I am open, warm, develop a trust and space which can be used to share their concerns or fear and I am committed to self-development and self-reflexivity.
I am a mindfulness teacher, listed on the UK Network of approved Mindfulness practitioners. I deliver Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme to private groups and businesses and I work in collaboration with ManHealth CIC, a local organisation supporting Men experiencing depression and mental health challenges.
Maps & Directions
Sunderland, SR3
Billingham, TS23
Type of session
| Online counselling: | Yes |
| Telephone counselling: | Yes |
| Face to face counselling: | Yes |
| Home visits: | No |
Practical details
| Sign language: | No |
| Other languages: | None |
Accessibility
| Wheelchair access: | No |
Availability
I can currently offer appointments during the day, some evenings and Saturday mornings
Types of client
| Children |
| Young people |
| Adults |
| Older adults |
| Couples |
| Families |
| Organisations |
| Employee Assistance Programme |
