Karen Grierson is a Registered Psychotherapist, a member in good standing of both the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists. She holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Care & Counselling (Theological Studies) from Wilfrid Laurier University, and has been in private practice since 2010.
Karen specializes in individual and relationship therapy with adults, using systems and attachment theories in conjunction with basic Buddhist tenets of mindfulness and compassion for Self and others, to guide client explorations through their own individual and relationship stories. This allows for a flexible combination of narrative and solution-focused approaches to identifying and articulating clients’ needs and goals, encouraging positive changes to help achieve them. Karen can help clients better understand the influence of interconnected thoughts, feelings, stories, values, and expectations on conscious and subconscious behaviours and decision-making patterns. She can also help reconnect them with the strengths and resources available to, and within, themselves in times of crisis.
Professional communications has been Karen’s job in one form or another for twenty-five years. She has previously been a technical writer and information developer in Waterloo Region’s IT community, and is deeply understanding of the myriad stresses found in High Tech—and the impacts those stresses can have on one’s personal, family, and professional life. She is experienced with a broad spectrum of relationship styles and power-exchange dynamics, gender identities, and sexual orientations, including almost 30 years with the BDSM, polyamory, and swingers communities in Southwestern Ontario. Karen has also trained as a support group facilitator for those who have offended sexually, through Waterloo Region’s Community Justice Initiatives.
Spiritual issues and resources from all faith traditions are explicitly welcome. She has been a student of Tibetan Buddhism for several years, and pursued her Master’s degree in counselling through the multi-faith environment of Waterloo Lutheran Seminary (Wilfrid Laurier University). Inclusion or exclusion of spiritual topics is entirely at the client’s discretion.
Therapeutic sessions with Karen are typically 50 minutes in length, but 90 minute sessions are also available by request.
Many Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and extended health care plans will cover services rendered by a Registered Psychotherapist.
