Karen Lawrence

I work Monday - Thursday daytime and Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  

I am not available on Friday or at weekends.

With almost 30 years of specialist clinical counselling experience, I offer services for individual therapy, couples counselling and same sex relationships, family counselling, sex and porn addiction therapy in Belfast and Bangor, Co. Down and online around the UK and Ireland. I also provide support for partners of sex addiction and therapy for couples and sex addiction.

I believe that Understanding is the Key to unlock your problems enabling you to find a fresh perspective. Even with very difficult or complex issues or where there are challenging, worrying and distressing emotions focusing on your needs exclusively can be a comfort and welcome relief.

I am MBACP Sen Accredited Counsellor and Supervisor, Member of ATSAC, ACTO Level 2 Professional Register for Online work.

Appointments are flexible to suit your needs daytime and evening from Monday to Thursday.

As an integrative therapist, I incorporate a range of methods and techniques from my initial training as a person-centred counsellor being enhanced through Relate in studying psychodynamic and systemic approaches in working with couples and families.  In continuing my journey in professional development, I've gained  Certificates from Dublin and London in sex and porn addiction and am committed to working in this field.

I am currently studying Polyvagal Theory learning more about neurobiology and somatic practice in working with trauma.

I blend together all of my knowledge and experiences with compassion, understanding and commitment to your welfare to empower you in your journey in life.

On first contact and in having carefully listened to you and prior to an initial assessment session, I can send my Agreement to Counselling 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 upon request.  Following an initial assessment session(s) we may agree to work regularly for six 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 and/or online.

Monday - Thursday 9am - 5pm

Friday 9am - 1pm

About Me:

I am a qualified and experienced supervisor of 20 years with capacity to work at great relational depth both online, telephone and face-to-face, offering a layering of modalities such as relational, psychodynamic, systemic, attachment, trauma and addiction along with meta supervision models such as 'The Seven-Eyed Supervisor' (psychodynamic) and the 'Domains of Action' (systemic).

Supervision Overview

Having qualified as a Supervisor in 2004, I became a BACP Senior Accredited Supervisor in 2007, ATSAC Supervisor from 2010 and ACTO Senior Professional Supervisor, Level 3 in 2023. I supervise individual, trainee, qualified counsellors and psychotherapists and other supervisors and the related professionals such as CEOs, clinical leads/managers of organisations and social services based practices and a number of charities, mental health, cancer focused and charities specifically arising from the Northern Ireland 'Troubles'.

I am bound by the BACP Ethical Framework for the counselling profession and the BACP Supplementary Guidance Working Online (GPA 047), the ATSAC Values, Vision and Mission of Inclusivity, Care, Equality, Responsibility and Striving to see the highest standard in everything we say and do. Reflecting and promoting the latest thinking in Sex Addiction forming part of these standards. I uphold the ACTO Code of Ethics and provide confidentiality within all of the above guidelines.

My Approach to Supervision:

I am an Integrative Practitioner incorporating modalities of psychodynamic, systemic, attachment, trauma informed and somatic polyvagal led.

I supervise with an Integrative Process Model and then The Seven-Eyed Supervisor developed by Peter Hawkings and Robin Shohet - a psychodynamic model incorporating the conscious and unconscious aspects of clinical practice. A creative take on this model is viewing this through the lens of 'Winnie-the-Pooh'.

I also supervise using the systemic Domains of Action model of three inter-linking circles, Action, Explanation and Aesthetics. Action relates to accountability and responsibility, explanation is the therapeutic relationship and aesthetics is about respectful and appropriate language underpinned by Codes of Ethics.

Key elements of my practice are: -

• Relational where the supervisory relationship between you and I are safety, trust, openness, courage and candour.

• Supervision needs to be something we both enjoy, where transformational learning takes place.

• I will be curious and interested in any 'take-aways' you get in each and every supervision session enabling a rich growing and developing practice.

• I also enjoy Ethical Dilemmas in how we respond to different situations and the positions we take moment-to-moment decision making.

In contacting me I offer a free half hour introductory 'meet and greet' session where we can begin to see if we are a good fit.

Following that I can forward my supervision contract for you to read and sign.

After 6 supervision sessions, I will review to see if supervision is meeting your needs.

I charge £60 per hour and £90 for 1.5 hours. You can pay online and on the day of the session

I request 48 hours working days notice for any cancellations