Karen Lawrence
BACP Accredited Counsellor & Supervisor
Member of ATSAC
ACTO Professional Register
About me and about my approach
"Do not assume that she who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. Her life may also have much sadness and difficulty, that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, he would never have been able to find these words."
Rainer Maria Rilke
Before becoming a counsellor, I volunteered with confidential crisis help lines such as the Samaritans and St John Ambulance a charitable organisation dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid.
I am qualified as a Social Worker obtaining a Masters of Social Work from Queen's University Belfast. I had the privilege of working as a student with Marie Curie in Specialist Palliative Care working with a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team of trained professionals caring for the very vulnerable of people with complex symptoms and life limiting illnesses. My role was to support patients and families providing direct care to the patient and support to their loved ones. This also included supporting the children of whom their parents and grandparents had died.
As an integrative therapist where ways of working are tailored to your needs, I am now dedicated to my Private Practice. I offer a comprehensive range of of approaches and counselling modalities. I work primarily in a psychodynamic, attachment, systemic and trauma-informed way. I was trained by Relate and provided therapy for 20 years with Relate couples and families with a variety of presenting issues working with relationships, communications, intimacy, rows, life transitions, parenting. I have a Relate Certificate in Couples and Marital Counselling and a Systemic Postgraduate Diploma in Family Therapy and Couples. I also had a role as the Relate Training Co-ordinator designing, delivering and evaluating counselling, courses, and corporate training for professional and charitable organisations
In continuing my professional journey I gained two specialist certificates in Sex Addiction and Problematic Pornography Use (PPU) otherwise known as Compulsive Sexual Behaviour Disorder (CSBD). I am an active member of ATSAC - The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Addictions and Compulsivity.
Training never stops and I continue to grow, learn and develop with continuous professional development. The greatest learning I believe comes from my clients where I feel privileged and humbled to accompany then on their journey.
About the BACP
I have been a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) from 1995 and an Accredited member from 2004. I adhere to the BACP Ethical Framework for Counselling Professions. There are approximately now over 70,000 members of the BACP. I am a BACP Specialist Supervisor from 2007 and have enabled many counsellors become Accredited Counsellors and Specialist Supervisors.
From your first contact whether by phone, text or email, I am listening and focusing on your worries and concerns to understand the nature of your distress. As a relational counsellor I believe in the Four S's of creating Safety, being Seen, being Soothed, providing Stability and making sense of what had happened in your life. I am passionate that Understanding is the Key. When we feel understood there can be healing and repair both for ourselves and in our relationships. Quite simply, understanding is the key and is at the heart of effective therapy providing informed choices and change.
Wrapped around the Four S's is our Client(s)/Counsellor Contract. This outlines the terms and conditions for therapy. I have designed it to establish a clear understanding of the therapeutic relationship, responsibilities and boundaries, in alignment with the Ethical Framework for Counselling Professions 2025. My contract is designed to ensure transparency, fairness and collaboration un the therapeutic relationship. Additionally, my policies and procedures are written keeping your protection in mind and arrangements have been made for client records in the event of my incapacity or death.
How to begin
In my first contact with you and after carefully listening I explain how I work. Prior to an initial assessment appointment in working online, I will send my Client(s)/Counsellor Contract for you to read and sign (encrypted for your privacy) together with Client Resources for helpful and useful information when working online. My Privacy Policy is available if you request. Following an initial assessment session(s), we may agree to work regularly for 6 sessions and then assess to see if your needs have been met and whether you would like to continue. You can choose either regular or flexible weekly / fortnightly appointments and either face to face or online.
Sessions are normally 50 minutes unless we agree a longer session of 75 minutes.
Fees
My current fees are:
15 minutes introductory consultation online/tele only: FREE
50 minutes assessments and ongoing therapy appointments 8am to 6pm Monday to Thursday : £60
50 minutes assessments and ongoing therapy appointments 6pm to 9pm Monday to Thursday : £70
75 minutes extended appointment (by request): £90 Assessment payments are made prior to your appointment
INTEGRATIVE
Weaving together different elements from different theories.
PSYCHODYNAMIC
Making links from the past to the present.
PERSON-CENTERED
Valuing the autonomy of the person.
SOLUTION-FOCUSED
Brief therapy involving problem free talk.
SYSTEMIC
Using family systems.
A bit more about me
Having been a couples and family therapist for over 30 years, 20 years a counselling supervisor and 16 years a sex addiction and porn addiction therapist, I have studied outside of the counselling arena.
One of my most privileged experiences and something I will always draw upon is working with people with terminal illness and their families in Marie Curie Belfast in completion of my Masters of Social Work. This was one of the most transformative life experiences I have had offering me such a deep personal insight into relationships at the most vulnerable of times.
