Karen Yuen , BACP

Karen Yuen is a BACP counsellor with eight years of experience working across NHS Direct, low-cost community services and spiritual settings. She brings a warm, steady presence and listens without judgement. Karen draws on her own mixed British East Asian background to understand how culture shapes beliefs and wellbeing. She supports people through stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and the life changes that follow.

Her approach centres on client-centred work and trauma-focused techniques. In sessions she helps people notice how upbringing, family relationships and past events influence current thoughts and patterns. This practical attention aims to build clearer understanding and reduce repeating unhelpful cycles.

Karen uses EMDR alongside other approaches when appropriate to address distressing memories and the effects of trauma. She also brings mindfulness, breathing exercises, body awareness and simple coping strategies into the room when they can help.

Her multicultural life experience - living in places such as India, Hong Kong and Portugal - informs a sensitive stance to different values and cultural expectations. She pays attention to how those factors affect wellbeing and decision making.

Sessions are offered to people aged 18 and over and can be short or longer term, depending on need. Karen aims to create an informal, empathic space where clients can process feelings, build self-trust and grow a stronger sense of agency.

How trauma-informed and client-centred approaches work online

Client-centred therapy places your experience at the heart of the work and focuses on listening, empathy and supporting you to find your own path. It helps when you want a calmer, clearer sense of what matters and how to move forward. EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, involves a structured way of working with distressing memories to reduce their emotional impact and can be useful for trauma and abuse. Trauma-Focused Therapy looks directly at the effects of past harm and supports rebuilding coping, safety and daily functioning.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Karen will talk through goals, preferences and what feels manageable, then suggest one or more approaches. That decision is collaborative and may change as therapy progresses to match your needs.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to give flexibility. Video calls suit deeper conversations when you want face-to-face contact. Phone sessions are useful when bandwidth is limited or you prefer not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging work well for brief check-ins, journalling between sessions, or when writing helps you express difficult thoughts. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, family or travel and mean you can continue care from different locations with registered or accredited professionals.