Fife Occupational Therapist
Supporting Women's Mental Health

I got in contact with Karen following some personal issues with my family that had impacted my mental health, as well as dealing with intrusive thoughts.  Not only was I able to deal with past trauma and recognise the signs of a healthy relationship, I have also grown in confidence in my personal and professional life.

Having therapy sessions with Karen has improved my life for the better.  I believe in myself and understand my worth, and my mental health has never been better!

I coped really well through last year, and I’m sure it would have been very different had I not had the sessions I had with you. Anxiety is no longer a feature of my life and I’m starting this year happier than I have been in many many years and with a strong sense of self and confidence.

I was out for a wee walk yesterday and I realised just how contented and at peace I am.
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Our sessions together came just at the right time, and I can’t tell you how much it helped that you heard me, helped me to sift out the confusion in my head and held a structure for me to come back onto when I got a bit ungrounded. I keep taking reassurance from some of the things that you said to me - where you could see what I was capable of when I couldn’t. It’s still an anchor that I hold on to now

I cannot speak highly enough of Karen. She is very experienced and professional. She has helped me work on depression, anxiety and OCD which had been of huge benefit to me.

For as long as I can remember I had feelings on anxiety and panic. It manifested itself in different ways but the most troubling was when it came to my relationships with men. I have dated numerous wonderful men over the years and, some of them, I really loved. But there was always a part of me that was convinced that my partners would leave me and that I’d be left hurt and alone. I would therefore sabotage my relationships, trying to force my partners to leave me so that I was at least in control of what I felt was inevitable. I would also lead a duplicitous life, dating two men at once and therefore keeping my options open so that if one left, I had the other to fall back on.
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I always knew this wasn’t healthy yet I felt powerless to control it. I thought I was an awful person because whenever I tried to do the right thing, like commit to one man, I felt anxious and panicked. I wasn’t secure and happy which was what should come with being in a stable relationship.
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It got to the point where I just couldn’t bear to continue along the same route I was heading – I was unhappy and anxious and could see my life stretching ahead of me with the same pattern being repeated again and again. I decided to take action and try therapy but I wanted a therapy with tangible actions so that I could track my progress and feel like I was taking steps to make improvements in my life. I also wasn’t interested in attending therapy for an indefinite amount of time – I wanted results in a short period and was prepared to work hard to get those results. I researched Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and this felt like the right route for me to take.
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I consider meeting Karen a major turning point in my life. Together we set manageable goals to achieve what I wanted. The process was daunting and incredibly difficult but, as I felt this was my only hope, I was totally committed to the process and threw myself into it with all my energy. Karen was totally supportive, kind, compassionate and caring. She guided me on this painful journey and, often when I thought it might be too difficult to endure, she encouraged me and helped me keep on track.

I would like to recommend Karen to anyone who has distressing recurring thoughts.  Karen was the first person who has understood how I was feeling.  My thoughts were getting me very down and in return they were making me feel depressed.  I had no-one to talk to and I was afraid of telling anyone how I was feeling.  Karen listened, understood and learnt me how to deal with these thoughts.  She gave me homework that I could understand and knew exactly how to help me.   She is a great person and I would highly recommend her.

I started CBT with Karen in an effort to finally deal with my clinical depression, lack of self esteem and anxiety. Not originally from Edinburgh I was finding it hard to settle in the city not helped by my lack of confidence. When I initially started seeing Karen I was hoping that she would help me ‘get rid’ of my depression or at least help me find coping strategies to deal with my condition. What she actually helped me achieve was more realistic. I know that I will probably always have depression but I now am not ashamed of being a sufferer, can recognise better the first signs of depression and identify ways to cope rather than getting frustrated that it isn’t a problem that I can get rid of. She also helped me to make the decision that I needed to take medication and that it wasn’t a failing to admit I needed it. Before I saw Karen I had a lot of emotional baggage from traumatic past experiences which I was finding very hard to leave behind and move on. Although not an easy process, after CBT I have found it much easier to move on from the past and to get out of the pattern of thinking that the worst will always happen and that I deserve it.

Through CBT and Karen’s support I developed the confidence to increase my social activities and meet new people in Edinburgh with less anxiety. Karen was crucial in supporting me through a very destructive relationship and ultimately helping me gain the strength to end it.CBT is definitely not a miracle cure and I still have a long way to go but it has definitely helped me dramatically. Karen is very easy to talk to and has an excellent understanding of the problems that young women experience.

I can’t believe the change in myself from when I first went to see Karen to how I am now. The first time I met with Karen I had been depressed for quite a while (probably longer than I had realised). I wasn’t able to identify a ‘reason’ why I was feeling like this but I knew I needed to sort things out. I hadn’t been sleeping and my appetite was gone. I felt unable to cope with work and I couldn’t find enjoyment out of life. Before I went to my first appointment I was crying my eyes out sitting in a coffee shop not knowing what to do with myself.

After meeting Karen I felt a little better even after the first session as she made me realise that I was ‘normal’ and reassured me that I would feel better soon. At first we worked on coping with my depression and as I got better we then focused more on underlying issues which had lead me to anxiety and depression in the first place. My sessions will benefit me for the rest of my life. I actually feel that going through this has been beneficial as I am happier now than I was before my CBT.
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