Karen Baker

Karen is an integrative person-centred counsellor, and works in a collaborative way with clients in helping them achieve their desired goals from therapy.

My Approach to Therapy

My core approach is Person-Centred, although I am trained in many other approaches too.  We are all very different and I believe that, ultimately, you are the best expert for helping yourself.  My aim is to work collaboratively with you to help unravel what is going on in your life that has brought you to this position of seeking help.  However, I am not a purist and will draw on other approaches when the situation suggests these will be more helpful in helping you achieve your desired outcomes.  For example, when working with grief and loss I often draw on Existential Psychotherapy.  In this situation you can easily start to question your own mortality and even wonder about the meaning of life.  The approach Existential Psychotherapy uses can be useful in helping a distressed client learn to live with these issues, so they thrive despite them – or even because of them.

My Own Experience

I have personally experienced a number of emotional challenges in my life, including going through a divorce with 2 primary school aged children.  Until then I had been sceptical of the value of therapy and counselling, but the help I received at this time was transformational for me.  It helped me manage through a very difficult and distressing period and since then I have been keen to become trained so I could help others in distress.  My collaborative approach enables us to explore your emotions together, in a non judgemental way, so you can find ways to deal with them that work best for you.

• 2022
• 2 years – CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
• Bereavement by Suicide
• CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Mental Health First Aid and Mental Health Advocacy in the Workplace               
• Cruse Safeguarding
• 2021
• A Matter of Death and Life – Irvin Yalom
• 2020
• Working with a Suicidal Client
• Self-care
• Cruse Berevement Foundation 
• Cruse Zoom Support
• Cruse – Telephone Support
• CPCAB Level 3 Certificate in Counselling Studies
• 2019
• NCFE Cache Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Skills