Karen Smith

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Dip. Integrative Counselling MBACP
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

location_on Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9
Available for new clients
Available for new clients

This professional is available for new clients.

About me

As an integrative counsellor, the work we will do together is adapted to your specific needs. I will support you to understand where your feelings originate from and deal with them as they present in your current life. My experience of 30 years as a nurse has enhanced my work as a counsellor, through witnessing to the impact that life has on people physically and emotionally. You may be experiencing the following:

  • Feeling overwhelmed or anxious, leading to not stepping outside your comfort zone and avoiding new challenges.
  • Feeling being able to cope well normally, then find yourself painfully stuck, unable to move forward and unable to cope. Leading to losing sight of your goals and aspirations. 
  • Blocking out experiencing painful feelings by saying things like, ‘I am fine’, ‘I just need to be strong and carry on’, or ‘I don’t want to come across as being or feeling weak’. 
  • Fear of rejection leading to not taking risks, connecting with others, and achieving your goals.
  • You or someone you care for is living with chronic pain or a long-term health condition that you fear is controlling or significantly impacting on you enjoying life.
  • Experiencing a traumatic event, accident, bereavement, or loss, and feeling that you should be over it by now, but it is still affecting the present.
  • Feelings of emptiness or disconnected to yourself and others, leading to feeling isolated or alone.

If any of the above sounds familiar, then I can help. Working together we can explore and help you in:

  • Developing understanding of your experiences to begin to overcome and develop greater inner strength and resilience.
  • Identifying limiting self-beliefs and challenge them, so they no longer hinder you.
  • Developing confidence through learning to challenge negative thoughts and build a strong sense of self-worth.
  • Exploring your own solutions to gain the courage to take risks, making effective changes in your life or finding ways of coping with situations that have no solution, to begin to pursue your goals.
  • Feeling more confident and in control to take risks in seeking new opportunities and achieve your goals.

The clients I have worked with have all wanted to make changes to improve their situation,  leading to more fulfilling lives which they desire and enjoy. 

Take the next step and contact me, by phone or email to discuss any questions or book a free 20-minute initial consultation. We can explore ways of working together. I look forward to hearing from you and working with you.

Training, qualifications & experience

Qualification

  • Level 6 Diploma in Integrative Counselling.

Training

  • Impact of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) on Adult Survivors and their Relationships
  • Mental Health First Aider
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences
  • Mental Health and the Body:Treating Trauma
  • CSA Hope for Healing
  • Video and Phone counselling 2.0
  • An Introduction to Therapeutic Doodling with Clients

Experience

  • I have volunteered as a counsellor at Mind

Member organisations

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Areas of counselling I deal with

Therapies offered

Fees

£50.00 per session
Free initial telephone session

Concessions offered for

  • check_circle Low income
  • check_circle Keyworkers
  • check_circle OAPs
  • check_circle Students
  • check_circle Unemployed

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Young adults (18-24)
Adults (25-64)
Older Adults (65+)

Key details

DBS check info

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Online platforms

Zoom