Karen Yuen, BACP

Karen Yuen is a BACP counsellor based in the United Kingdom with eight years of experience. She draws on a mix of person-centred care, trauma-focused work and EMDR to help people facing anxiety, stress, low self-esteem and depression. Karen takes a down-to-earth approach and aims to make sessions straightforward and practical.

Her background includes time in NHS Direct, community low-cost therapy and spiritual settings. Those experiences shaped how she listens and responds to people from different cultural backgrounds. Karen’s own British East Asian heritage informs her awareness of cultural values and how these can affect wellbeing.

In sessions she listens without judgement and helps clients notice how upbringing, relationships with main carers and past events influence current thoughts and behaviours. The focus is on gaining clarity about these patterns and practising alternative responses that feel more helpful. Practical techniques such as breathing exercises, mindfulness and visualisation are used when they suit the person’s goals.

She works with adults aged 18 and over and supports both short-term and longer-term work depending on needs. Karen describes her basic stance as compassionate inquiry combined with practical tools to promote feeling more confident, grounded and empowered. Her training and life experience shape a warm, informal way of working.

Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Counselling and Therapeutic Studies and a Postgraduate Certificate in Daily Living and Wellbeing. Karen is a Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, listed as BACP.

How Karen's approaches translate to online therapy

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and understanding the person without judgement. It helps people who need a place to talk things through and build confidence through reflection and support.

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a trauma-focused method that helps process distressing memories and reduce their emotional charge. It can be useful for people struggling with trauma-related symptoms and intrusive memories.

Trauma-Focused Therapy concentrates on recognising how past experiences affect current feelings and behaviours, and on developing practical strategies to cope and move forward. It suits people who want to understand the impact of past events and learn ways to manage triggers.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Karen will discuss options with each person and decide together which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences. The choice can change over time as progress is made and priorities shift.

Online sessions offer practical benefits. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation without travel, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and live chat or text messaging supports brief check-ins or people who prefer writing. These formats make it easier to fit therapy around work, family and other commitments while keeping continuity of care with a registered professional.