Gestalt Psychotherapy and Supervision in Selling, between Canterbury, Faversham and Ashford in East Kent
Welcome and thank you for taking the time to find out a bit more about me and how I work.
My name is Karin and I have been a practising UKCP registered Gestalt Psychotherapist in East Kent since 2000. I am based in Selling, near Canterbury, Faversham, Whitstable and Ashford, although a number of my therapy clients do come from further afield in East Kent. I am committed to working in collaboration as a therapist to provide Gestalt therapy and supervision in a safe, confidential, non-judgemental and non-shaming environment.
On a personal level, I am guided by principles of self-awareness, self-acceptance and a striving for balance in life on an inner and outer level. As a psychotherapist, I support the humanistic view that we all have within us the resources to grow and make healthy contact with self and others, but that patterns of beliefs and behaviours develop through our relationships which can prevent us from responding creatively in the here and now.
Therapy
I see the invitation in therapy is to increase our awareness and our capacity to be in contact, both with ourselves and in relationship with others. This helps to expand our choices and our ability to respond flexibly and appropriately to the present circumstances.
Over the years, as a psychotherapist committed to continuing professional development, I have integrated a number of perspectives into my overall Gestalt psychotherapy framework. These include Integrative Arts Therapy to add more 'right-brain', nonverbal approaches and I am informed by Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to further incorporate the body and relational mindfulness into my practice. I have also completed the three levels of EMDR training to broaden the range of options to address trauma, facilitate exploration, and to build resources. I am very interested in the emerging findings from neuroscience, the evolutionary neurobiological underpinnings of brain development and plasticity and their impact upon behaviour, relationships and trauma.
I work with individual adults for once a week sessions, on an open-ended basis or for an agreed time period, with the aim of enabling you to enhance your life and to live it more fully. I have worked with a number of counselling students and trainee therapists, some of whom choose to continue or return for their own personal development once qualified.
Supervision
I see supervision as a working alliance, a mutual exploration and learning process which aims to support and facilitate the growth and development of the supervisee for the ultimate goal of engaging in safe, ethical and beneficial therapeutic relationships with their clients.
In creating a safe learning environment as a therapist, I seek to develop a relationship of partnership based upon honesty, openness, exploration, listening, discussing and mutual feedback. I believe that 'mistakes' should respectfully be explored in the spirit of curiosity and enquiry as important sources of growth and learning, rather than sources of shame.
Location.
My private psychotherapy practice is located in Selling, a lovely drive amongst the orchards within easy reach of Canterbury, Faversham, Whitstable, Ashford and Sittingbourne. My therapy room is a comfortable room, separate from the main house for greater privacy. Off road parking is available.
Sometimes my name is mistyped as Karen Shelley-Martin, so I have added that here, just in case that happens.
Gestalt Therapist, Counsellor and Supervisor in East Kent.
