Karen Oberheim

I work in the evenings on weekdays either from a room in central Ripon, on-line or on the telephone. 

We often feel like we have to face things alone and that if we can't we have somehow failed, but that's not a fair judgement to make of ourselves. We are not evolved to be alone, in fact, the opposite is true and by sharing life's challenges, we can find hope where there previously was none. Sharing our most challenging experiences, thoughts and feelings is easier said than done which is why it is helpful to have someone outside of our everyday life who can listen without judgement. 

Whatever your challenges are, I look forward to the opportunity to understand them as fully as I can, how they are affecting you and how I can help you to find a way forward.

My aim is to provide support, therapeutic skills and knowledge so that you can find ways to alleviate the symptoms of whatever you are experiencing so that you can start to build a life more in line with what you ideally want. I will be by your side to listen, to enquire, to reassure and to guide you in the direction that you would like to go. And don't worry if you currently have no idea what direction you would like to go in, I'm here to work through that with you too if that's what you need. 

Reasons for seeking counselling are as varied and unique as people are themselves so my aim is to find the approach that is as unique as you are. It may be that your aim is to improve relationships, reduce stress, resolve a dilemma, work through a difficult experience, increase resilience, increase personal agency, find purpose or simply to have space to be yourself without judgement. These are just a few examples and your reasons for seeking therapy may be entirely different. There is no issue too big or too small that may require assistance.

I trained with the Northern Guild for Counselling and Psychotherapy with a core model of Transactional Analysis (See below for description of what this is). I was also taught a large variety of other theoretical approaches and ways of working. Since qualifying I’ve continued to attend regular training sessions with experts and peers to deepen and broaden my skills and knowledge.

In counselling there are many different ways of modelling the human mind and of working with clients. The ones that I most commonly use are;

Holistic – Considering a person in their entirety; their personality, history, health, family situation, stresses, loves, culture, living conditions, work, spirituality to name only a few aspects that impact on overall wellness

Person Centred – Working in this way means that I believe the person themselves has ultimate authority on how they are doing and what is best for them

Transactional Analysis – a model of three states of being; Adult, Child and Parent with the ultimate goal of integrating all three

Relational – considering the ways in which we interact with each other in the therapy, how this translates to everyday life and how we relate to ourselves

Phenomenological – using information from the way our body and emotions respond to the world to guide us in an approach to positive change

It is important that we are a good fit so I offer a first session at reduced rate. During this session you can let me know what you are looking for and I can discuss how we might work together to reach your goals. If at the end of the session you would like to continue, we can discuss how many sessions you would like to begin with or if you don't think it's for you, there is no obligation to continue and I may be able to suggest some alternative therapists who could help.