Karen Spilsbury, NCPS

Karen Spilsbury is a counsellor in the United Kingdom with eight years of professional experience. She focuses on stress, anxiety, addiction recovery, trauma and abuse, self-esteem and coping with life changes. Karen speaks English and draws on a range of practical approaches to help people make small, steady changes.

Karen believes each person knows their own story. She treats people as the experts in their lives and works alongside them to use their strengths. Sessions are straightforward and aim to break down problems into manageable steps so change feels possible.

Her background includes work with people dealing with addiction, relationship breakups, domestic violence and dissociation, among other concerns. She also supports those facing attachment difficulties, codependency and communication problems. This experience supports a broad view of how stress and everyday patterns of thinking and behaving affect daily life.

Her approach draws on therapies that focus on thoughts and everyday habits, and on helping people notice what matters to them. In sessions she uses simple exercises, short practical tools and reflective conversation to build new routines and coping strategies. Karen encourages pacing progress so people can try things between meetings and come back to review what worked.

Taking the first step can be hard, and Karen aims to make the process as clear and manageable as possible. She asks questions, listens closely and helps people set realistic goals they can work on between sessions.

How Karen’s approaches translate to online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice their thoughts and choose actions that match their values rather than getting stuck in fear or avoidance; it can support people facing anxiety, stress and major life changes. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thought patterns and testing them with small experiments and practical tasks, which can help with anxiety, low mood and unhelpful habits. Client-Centred Therapy emphasises a respectful, non-judgemental relationship where the counsellor listens closely and follows the person’s pace, useful when someone needs to explore painful events or build confidence.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Karen will talk with each person about their needs, goals and preferences and suggest approaches to try. The decision on which methods to use is collaborative and can shift as progress is made.

Practical benefits of online therapy include fitting sessions into a busy week and saving travel time. Online work can make it easier to schedule shorter check-ins or to meet from a different location when that helps someone keep momentum. Because the biography does not list specific session formats, confirm current session options before booking so you know what will best fit your routine.