About Karen
Karen Bell is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom with 18 years of experience. She is a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, BACP. Karen aims to put people and their feelings first and creates a non-judgemental space for talking things through.
Her background includes working in a GP surgery and providing trauma counselling to people who have experienced child abuse and suicidal feelings. She has also worked as an occupational health counsellor for Northumbria Police, supporting colleagues through work-related stress and trauma.
How Karen works
These roles shaped her practical approach to stress, anxiety and loss. In sessions she focuses on listening carefully and helping people name what is happening for them. Karen helps people spot coping habits that may have become harmful, including addictive behaviours.
She supports those affected by narcissistic abuse and gaslighting and validates their experience. Karen welcomes people across different genders, sexualities, cultures and religions. She is comfortable supporting people on the autism spectrum and those with ADHD, and encourages clients to mention their specific needs and interests.
Her style is calm, direct and compassionate. She offers counselling through video calls, phone, live chat and text messaging. People are encouraged to take the first step by completing a short matching questionnaire and arranging sessions that suit their needs.
Karen lists 9 ways of working on the entry:
What Karen works with
The areas below are the ones Karen selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- LGBT
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | BACP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 18 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How Karen’s approaches work online
Attachment-based work looks at how early relationships shape current ways of relating. Online sessions can help people notice patterns in close relationships and try new ways of connecting. Client-centred counselling focuses on the person in front of the counsellor - the practitioner listens without judgement and helps people find their own answers. This is useful for those who need a steady, accepting space to think things through.Cognitive behavioural therapy, or CBT, helps people spot unhelpful thoughts and try simple practical experiments to change feelings and behaviours. It often suits concerns like anxiety, depression, sleep problems and coping with life changes.
Choosing an approach is a joint process. The counsellor will talk through options and try to match methods to the person's needs, goals and preferences. Sessions can blend approaches as understanding deepens and priorities shift.
Online counselling offers flexibility in how sessions happen. Video calls are good for a face-to-face feel. Phone sessions work when someone needs a quieter, no-camera option or has limited bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging suit shorter check-ins, written reflection, or people who prefer typing. These options make therapy easier to fit around work, family and daily life.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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