Karen Marsh, PACFA

Karen Marsh is a PACFA-credentialed counsellor in Australia with 25 years of professional experience. She works with people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, relationship and family problems, trauma and abuse, and anger. She also helps with issues such as abandonment, attachment difficulties, codependency and communication problems.

Karen uses straightforward, evidence-informed methods in sessions. She draws on approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Attachment-Based Therapy and Emotionally-Focused Therapy to help people notice patterns and try different responses. Sessions focus on practical steps and clearer thinking rather than jargon.

She treats the person in front of her as the expert on their story. That means listening first, then offering ways to manage strong feelings, reduce reactivity and repair strained relationships. Work may include learning skills for distress, practising new ways to talk with others, and addressing old attachment patterns that keep repeating.

Karen has a long background working with trauma and post-traumatic stress using methods such as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and memory-focused techniques. She blends these with talk-based approaches when it suits the client and the problem being addressed.

People who come to see her often want direct strategies for handling anger and resentment, clearer communication in their close relationships, and relief from anxiety or panic. She asks practical questions early on and co-plans steps the person can try between sessions to test what helps.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online sessions