Are you ready to understand yourself differently?
The people who find their way to me are often holding things together well on the outside while something on the inside isn’t working. They’re self-aware, they’ve tried hard, and yet the same patterns keep showing up. Anxiety, low mood, a difficult relationship with food or their body, a sense of not quite being enough, or some combination of all of these.
What we do together is go beneath the surface. Finding the roots of those patterns, understanding the stories behind them, and working towards change that’s real and lasting.
Counselling tailored to your unique needs
I specialise in working with people who are struggling with anxiety, perfectionism. low self-esteem, and a difficult relationship with food or their body. These things rarely exist in isolation, and understanding how they connect, and where they come from, is often where the most meaningful change begins.
However you'd like to work
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A different kind of therapist
I’m Karen Toms, a counsellor and therapist, working in Plymouth, Tavistock and online across the UK.
Shifts come when you believe in them yourself — not because someone told you to. I know this because I’ve done this work on myself. I’ve addressed the root causes, understood how perfectionism wasn’t serving me, stopped berating myself and made the changes that created lasting difference. That experience — alongside years of study, wide-ranging work and genuine curiosity about what it means to grow — is what I bring to every client.
Together we’ll get to the root of what’s keeping you stuck and start to change it, one step at a time. Not just managing how you feel, but shifting the story you tell yourself. Because when that changes, everything else can too.
I’m a registered member of the BACP and a graduate member of the British Psychological Society.
In the words of my clients
With Karen I feel safe and supported to reveal all sorts of aspects of myself and to explore uncomfortable and difficult topics. She has helped me to realise and understand many things that are going on for me, and to find ways to work with them. I also find working with Karen great fun – she brings humour and intelligence to our sessions and I always look forward to speaking with her.
I feel I can now take up space without guilt.
When we began working together, I was depressed and fearful about life. With Karen’s help, I am now joyful and excited about the future.
Welcome to the Notebook
Pieces on self-worth, identity, becoming, style and how we flourish. For anyone who thinks carefully about themselves and the world around them, whether or not therapy is part of their story.
