Karen Waite
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
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Welcome to "Find a voice..." Counselling & Psychotherapy, I am a qualified BA (Hons) Integrative Counsellor and am a Registered Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Talking about our feelings and emotions can be hard and taking the first steps into therapy is possibly the hardest part of the journey.
Sharing our innermost feelings can make us feel vulnerable and yet it is talking about and validating these feelings and experiences that can be the healing part of our journey through to well-being and acceptance.
When feelings, emotions and experiences become overwhelming, we can lose our voice and surrender to the isolation of suppressed emotions which can create angst and insecurities, making everyday life incredibly difficult.
Our thoughts can have an impact on our feelings and emotions creating negativity and emotional overload, this can lead to low mood, anxiety and depression. We can all feel 'down' at times but when these feelings continue for more than a couple of weeks or are affecting your everyday day life, it may be time to talk to someone. Everyone is unique and will experience mental health struggles differently however I have listed some possible signs, you or someone you know may be experiencing:
- Constantly tired/exhausted
- Losing interest in activities/hobbies
- Feeling tearful and over or under emotional
- Constantly unhappy or feeling hopeless
- Continuously anxious
- Difficulty making decisions
- Feeling disconnected from others
- Disrupted sleep patterns, insomnia
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of self-esteem
- Loss of motivation
- Loss of sex drive
- Experiencing physical aches/pains
We often take care of everything else but tend to forget to look after our mental health.
My own work and life experience gave me an insight into the complexities and fragility of our mental health and well-being. I began to see the benefits of Counselling & Psychotherapy Therapies and their ability to nurture and maintain the recovery process through mental health struggles, anxiety, depression, abuse and trauma recovery.
The therapeutic alliance between client and counsellor is a powerful tool and I offer to work with you towards relational depth using autonomy, congruence and trust to nurture exploration of experiences and feelings that may be blocking an ability to self-actualise. I believe raising awareness of the importance of your own self-reflection, self-love and encouraging self-empowerment through counselling therapies can make a difference in your recovery process.
Whether you are returning to therapy or coming for the first time, our comfortable rooms are based in a discreet professional therapy clinic in Plymouth and I welcome you with understanding and acceptance in a safe and confidential space where I offer to walk with you at your own pace on your journey through mental health well-being, abuse and trauma recovery using guidance and Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy tools to help you validate your true sense of self, reconnect and ...." Find a voice..."
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a BA (Hons) qualified Integrative Counsellor and Psychotherapist based in Plymouth, Devon, UK.
I comply to GDPR specifications and am fully DBS checked.
I am a Registered Member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) working towards accreditation.
I work within the boundaries of the BACP Ethical Framework Good Practice guidelines which maintains my safe ethical practice.
I have been working in Domestic Violence/Abuse and Trauma Recovery Support since 2003.
In 2003 I began volunteering with Woman's Aid, then branched out as one of the founding members/secretary of SEEDS Devon (Survivors Empowering and Educating Domestic Abuse Services) Which involved providing training and/or presentations for employers and organisations to raise awareness of Domestic Abuse.
I also assisted in the development of a SEEDS group in Plymouth and trained with the Domestic Abuse Services in Torbay.
During my Counselling Training I underwent my University Work Based Learning placement at an NHS Community Interest Company (CIC) Counselling provider covering the South West.
I also had my Client Based placement within a CIC in Plymouth where I currently see clients providing affordable counselling including Counselling for Carers, Domestic Abuse and Family Intervention programs.
I also provide a 'drop in' Counselling Service once a week at a Domestic Abuse Service in Plymouth which is provided by the same CIC.
I am qualified to a Level 6 BA (Hons) In Integrative Counselling Studies and always seek to improve my practice with CPD training.
I have worked in and around the Care Industry for many years and it felt completely natural to gravitate towards a Counselling & Psychotherapy career.
I am passionate about my work and am fully driven to support my clients through their counselling journey.
Member organisations
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I work in Domestic Abuse and Trauma Recovery Support and understand how the effects of Trauma and Domestic Abuse can feel permanent and dis-empowering, often lying dormant in our subconscious until triggered by sights or smells that bring confusion and immobilise our sense of rational and safety.
I offer a safe and ethical way of working therapeutically through the effects of Abuse and Trauma. Helping you to discover an understanding of your own inner strengths and take back your power from the oppression of Abuse and Trauma.
We can not change our experiences, however, we can change how we feel about them through therapeutic working progress and creating new thought processes and somatic feelings attached to the memory of trauma and abuse.
Working with the effects of Domestic Violence/Abuse and Trauma is complex and working integratively enables my clients to work through the present and historical trauma such as ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) in a safe and confidential space. This can have a positive effect on present-day relationships and how we manage our everyday lives in the shadow of abuse and trauma.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£35.00 - £50.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Session Fees
50 min £50
Sliding scale concessions from £35.
Initial Session
A good client/counsellor alliance is key to effective therapy, so it is important to know that we get along and are able to build a therapeutic relationship.
So with this in mind, I offer a free initial 30-minute session either in my practice room in Plymouth or via the telephone.
Initial 30 min - FREE
When I work
flexible online/telephone
