Karen Stevens

My current availability is:-

Mondays - 9am-2pm

Wednesdays - 9am-2pm 

I am a registered & accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), fully insured & have an Advanced DBS certificate.

Support can be via telephone, video link or face to face using a private counselling room based in Herne Bay, Kent.

I am a qualified Integrative Counsellor and Supervisor, using concepts from Psychodynamic, Humanistic & CBT models of therapy to support the emotional & psychological well-being of Children, Adolescent & Adults. Being an Integrative therapist enables me to draw on different theories & to be flexible, meeting individual needs & enhance our work together. I also use Mindfulness, Neuroscience & Spirituality to enhance my practice.

I have 12 years counselling experience working with young people within primary, secondary & college environments & with generic adult referrals within counselling organisations - NHS IAPT service, EAP (Employer Assist Programme) & private practice. Our work together could be brief, a few sessions, or long term and cover any aspect of life which might be having a psychological impact, such as:- anxiety, stress, trauma, bereavement, work issues, family problems, relationships, low self esteem / confidence & identity.

I currently work as an experienced Integrative Therapist for Priory CAMHs (Children & Adolescents Mental Health Service) Well-Being Centre & in Private Practice supporting Adults, Children & Adolescents.

Training, qualifications & experience

Integrative Counsellor (BACP Accredited) - Working with Psychodynamic, Humanistic, CBT and Mindfulness concepts.

Supervisor-Level 6 Diploma in Therapeutic Supervision (ABC Awards)

Place2Be-Counselling Children training and qualification

Community Mediation Mediator-OCN Level 3

Youth Offending Service Panel Member - Youth Offending Service Team-10-17 year olds

OCN Helping in Schools-OCN Level 3

Life can be difficult, stressful, anxiety inducing, traumatic & not in our control.  Through talking therapy, we can give time to our minds, our brains. It is common & accepted to visit our doctors for physical / medical conditions but very few of us seek support for our mental (mind) health.

Our minds play a powerful part in our general well-being, our psychological health has a huge impact on our daily lives. It can impact how we perceive ourselves, others & life in general. It can impact our emotions, thoughts, behaviours, relationships & ability to function to our full potential. Our minds can be impacted from events, situations, circumstances from the past or current life difficulties such as separation, bereavement, work/family dynamics & issues and our identity to name a few.

When we do not attend to our mind, we can easily find ourselves, whether conscious or not, in a situation causing us anxiety, stress, low mood, depression & stuck in repeating negative thoughts, behaviours & patterns.

Talking Therapy helps to explore our minds & identify these issues & emotional/behavioural triggers. Once identified, a cathartic process can take place through awareness, understanding, exploring & processing. Counselling can help us to understand who we are, why we think the way we think & behave the way do.

Counselling is not always an easy process but can be insightful, healing & life changing. In gaining understanding, options, skills & tools, we are able to move forward & live life in a more conscious, mindful, positive way.

I am enthused to learn, to understand the inter-connectedness of the mind & body & the impact of psycho-somatic symptoms on our overall well-being and functioning. I enjoy sharing this information & knowledge in a safe, non-judgemental environment to support you & your well-being so that you will be able to move on & live a more conscious, self aware life in the future.      

I offer a free 20 minute meeting to introduce myself, how I work and what I can offer. It is also a time for you to sense if I am the right person for you - for you to be able to assess whether you feel comfortable to engage in a therapeutic relationship too.

If you would like to proceed with therapy - we will then arrange a convenient day and time for our first and ongoing sessions.

Our first session will be an assessment, to share information - contact details and referral details that will be the premise of our work together.  

Please contact me for current availability to arrange a suitable, convenient day and time. 

Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling Supervision - QLS Level 6

Using The Seven Eyed Supervision Model - Hawkins & Shohet 1985 

Areas of focus that encompass the client, the counsellor, the supervisor, the relationships between therapist, client and supervisor and the wider system. 

I am a BACP Accredited member.

My core training is Integrative - Psychodynamic and Humanistic concepts.  I incorporate CBT, Mindfulness and Spirituality into my practice and am enthused by neuroscience, the mind / body connection and the Polyvagal system.  

I have experience working with adult clients within NHS IAPT, EAP, and private practice.  My experience working with children, adolescents, and young adults is within schools, colleges, CAHMS with the Priory and private practice.  

My practice has evolved to blend a person centered approach to help facilitate a therapeutic space for the client to explore their past, present and future, sharing knowledge and information to empower them to make changes and feel in control of their lives. 

Whilst I do not have specific qualifications in all the different themes for counselling, I take an holistic approach with working with the person, the individual and seeing what is going on for them and how can I / therapy help them with whatever their support / need is.   

I am able to provide clinical supervision for therapists working with Children, Adolescents and Adults. 

As a supervisor, I work collaboratively, sharing knowledge and insight to help supervisees explore their therapeutic work.  I offer a safe, supportive and contained supervision space where supervisees feel able to share and discuss client material, especially difficult cases and where the supervisee needs to be self-reflective and tough, ethical decisions need to be made. Supervision is a reflective space to help us both evolve as therapists, encompassing challenge and encouragement.

I hope for my supervisees to end a supervision session feeling it was informative and constructive, having learnt something about their client work and themselves, gained the answers they were seeking and leave feeling enthused and equipped to carry out the important work that we do for the next month. 

A first session is always about compatibility - am I the right supervisor for you? In this session, we can explore the type of supervisor / supervision you need and whether I can meet that need for you. We can discuss our working styles and the type of clientele you work with to make sure I have the right skill base to support you in your client work. 

We will talk through a working agreement and acquire relevant  information to inform our supervision.