Karen Shaw


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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Do you want a supportive space to talk?
Are you troubled by traumatic memories?
Are you struggling with depression, anxiety and/or stress?
Would you like to improve your confidence & self-esteem and feel happier?
Hello, I am Karen, a fully qualified, UKCP and BACP Psychotherapeutic Counsellor. I consider myself to be warm, caring, non-judgmental, sensitive and supportive. I am a LGBTQ+ ally and have experience of working with neurodiverse clients.
I am skilled in helping people to improve their self-esteem, manage anxiety and depression, and to create more satisfying relationships with themselves and others. I have a special interest in supporting people who have experienced sexual violence/abuse and helping people to address deep-rooted childhood trauma/developmental problems.
My practice is based in a convenient, accessible location in Grantham, just off the A1 with free car parking.
On Mondays I work in Normanton-on Trent which is accessible and has free car parking.
I provide confidential long & short term counselling to individual adults either in person or online.
I believe passionately in the long-term benefits of counselling and love my work. It is a privilege for me to support people through their difficulties and help them find their way to live happier, more fulfilled lives.
Who Can I Help
Whatever you are going through, you don’t have to go through it alone. You may be seeking therapy to get support with something specific that has happened to you. Trauma, the loss of a loved one, loss of work, identity or purpose. I can provide you with a confidential space for you to process your experience and find a way to heal and move forward. Alternatively, you may want someone to support and listen to you while you’re going through a difficult time.
Short-term Brief Counselling
In brief and short term work we may agree to work for 6-12 sessions then reassess.
You may come to counselling when you’re going through a difficult period where you need support and someone to listen.
I can also support you to focus on one, or a few specific issues and work towards defined, achievable goals.
Long Term
This is usually open-ended. I will support you while you look deeply at your thoughts, emotions, behaviour and ingrained patterns of relating, which often have their roots in childhood, so that you can develop a greater understanding of yourself and make any changes you’d like. Our work will be anchored in the present while we can look with gentle curiosity at how past memories and future worries impact you in the here and now. Long-term work can lead to profound growth, increased happiness and personality changes over time.
How I Work
I am an integrative and relational psychotherapeutic counsellor. This means that I use various counselling models to tailor a therapeutic approach that is individual to you and your needs, to help you reach your goals.
Above all, I believe in the importance and power of the therapeutic relationship in which I invest myself professionally, genuinely, emotionally and compassionately with integrity and confidentially.
Getting Started
I know that taking that first step can often feel difficult especially if you don't know what to expect. You can expect me to be warm, welcoming and non-judgmental.
All you need to do right at the start is get in touch! You can contact me in whatever way feels most comfortable - by telephone call, text, WhatsApp or email and we can arrange an initial meeting/assessment.
I offer an optional, free 15 minute pre-assessment telephone consultation. This is an opportunity for you to connect with me before meeting and ask questions, which can be helpful if you are nervous or a bit unsure.
All sessions are 50 minutes long. It's very relaxed and if you are nervous, I will do my best to put you at ease. Our first session is an assessment session where we have a chance for us to get to know each other a little - you will have the space to tell me what has brought you to counselling, and I can explain how I work and answer any questions you have. After that, I can tell you if I think I can help you and you can decide if it feels a good fit for you. Some people know right away, others like to go away and have a think about it. There is no obligation to continue.
If we decide to continue, we will then agree on a day and time to meet, usually weekly. You may already have an idea as to whether you want to work long or short term.
Training, qualifications & experience
Training and Experience
- Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling (Level 6 BACP and UKCP Accredited Course)
- Postgraduate Diploma (Dist) in Psychotherapeutic Studies
- ReWind Trauma Therapy
- ASIST Suicide Intervention
- Enhanced DBS Clearance
As a member of UKCP and BACP, I adhere to their Ethical Frameworks which recommends I undertake regular Continual Professional Development (CPD) training. Some examples of CPD courses I have undertaken include:
- Working with Suicide
- Inner Child
- Integrative Sand Play
- Counselling for End-of-Life Clients
- Counselling for Autistic Clients
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Gender Based Violence
- Current Thinking in GSRD Therapy
- GSRD – Queerness and Polyamory
- Strategies to Improve Relationships
- Story and Metaphor
- Fairy tale Life Script
- Working with Shame
- Autism and C-PTSD
I have worked within a hospice setting providing counselling for end of life, pre and post bereavement. I have also worked for a charity and higher educational establishment where I provided counselling for many issues including sexual and domestic abuse/violence and trauma stemming from childhood experiences of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and neglect.
Other clients that I have worked with experienced dissociation; struggles in the workplace; bullying; low self-confidence; loss of identity; relationship issues; caring responsibilities and many more.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.

The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) is a leading professional body for the education, training and regulation of psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors. Its register is accredited by the government's Professional Standards Authority.
As part of its commitment to protect the public, it works to improve access to psychotherapy, to support and disseminate research, to improve standards and to respond effectively to complaints against its members.
UKCP standards cover the range of different psychotherapies. Registration is obtained by training or accrediting with one of its member organisations, or by holding a European Certificate in Psychotherapy. Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership

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.


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
£60.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Additional information
Fees can be paid by bank transfer, cash or credit card
When I work
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I offer late evening appointments but these are only available online.
Weekend sessions are online only.
Further information
In person sessions: A wheelchair accessible room is available. There is an accessible toilet. Free car parking on site at both locations
Online sessions: I use Zoom for online sessions. A recurring link will be emailed to you and this will be personal to you. The Zoom room will also have a waiting room so that no one can inadvertently access our session.