Karen Irvine

Monday 11 am -5pm; Tuesday 9am-6pm; Thursday 3pm-6pm

Friday 9am-1pm.

Hello & welcome. My name is Karen, and I am an integrated counsellor dedicated to providing a warm, non-judgmental space where you can explore your thoughts, feelings and experiences at your own pace. I believe that every individual has the capacity for growth, healing and self-understanding when offered genuine empathy, acceptance, and respect.

I hold a Level 4 Diploma in Counselling skills and Theory, and I am a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), My practice is guided by their ethical framework.

About me & my therapy practice

As an integrated counsellor, I work intuitively with you, individually tailoring our sessions. If it’s helpful to you, I may introduce psychoeducation, grounding techniques, breath work and theories to aid your awareness. These come from various modalities, but with person-centred principles at the heart of our work together.

My approach is holistic, which means I view you as the whole person (mind, body, emotions).

 I always endeavour to provide a safe, supportive, empathic space in which you can safely explore what it is that has brought you to seek the support. We will work with your “here & now” emotions and feelings to help you gain clarity and enable positive change to take place. My hope in our work together is to understand your unique experiences with curiosity and enable you to feel empowered as an individual and foster a deeper personal understanding.

Therapy isn’t a magic wand; it’s a collaborative process. We will build a trusting relationship together where you will be truly heard. An Important ingredient of your therapy journey is to offer valuable personal insights, which can be deeply transformative for your personal healing journey to begin. 

I offer long-term and short-term counselling, and work with a broad range of issues including depression, anxiety, relationship problems, low self- esteem;  bereavement;  anger & life transitions. 

My counselling approach can benefit people who seek to gain more self-confidence, a stronger sense of identity & authenticity for those wishing to improve their interpersonal relationships, to feel more able to trust in making their own decisions.

I offer a no obligation, free 20-minute online consultation in which you can discuss what has brought you to seek counselling. You can either arrange an appointment then, or take time to consider your options.

Counselling sessions are 50 mins & are usually weekly initially. Face-to-face sessions are Tuesdays & Thursdays, in my office in Kirkby Stephen, near the eastern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and easily accessible from M6 J38. 

Online sessions are available Monday to Friday.

First session:- We will go through the working agreement /contract & confidentiality. Both will have been emailed to you before the first appointment. I usually carry out a short Core 10 assessment: which are 10 brief questions to assess emotionally where you feel you are at this moment.