- ACT informed
- CBT techniques
- Emotion work
About Karen
Karen Santos is a PACFA psychotherapist and social worker based in Australia with 12 years' experience. She works with adults, adolescents and children on concerns such as trauma, stress, depression, anxiety, parenting struggles, life adjustments, grief and loss.
Karen draws on long experience in trauma and mental health counselling and recent community mental health case management. That background shapes a practical focus on what matters to each person. Sessions aim to clarify immediate needs and create steps people can use between meetings.
Her practice brings together several approaches. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thoughts and actions. Emotionally-Focused Therapy supports people to recognise and name difficult feelings. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is part of her current skill development to help people clarify values and take meaningful action.
Karen also works with issues linked to attachment, abandonment, adoption and foster care, body image, caregiver stress, chronic illness and pain, dissociation, domestic violence and eating or food-related concerns. She integrates therapeutic play methods when working with younger clients where relevant.
Sessions are conducted in English and Tagalog. Fees vary by location and use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time. To begin, people use the online matching questionnaire and schedule a first session through the service button.
Her style is straightforward and curious. Karen helps people name what they are carrying, test small changes, and notice what helps in daily life.
How therapeutic approaches are used in online sessions
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people identify what truly matters to them and take small actions in line with those values. It focuses less on removing difficult feelings and more on living alongside them while moving toward chosen goals.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. In sessions, people learn simple experiments and exercises to test unhelpful thinking and try different responses to reduce distress.
Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) supports people to recognise and name strong emotions. This can clarify what is driving behaviours or relational patterns and point to practical steps for change.
Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the client to decide which methods fit their needs, goals and preferences. That choice is revisited as the work unfolds so methods can change if something else suits better.
Session formats are not specified in the original biography, so confirm available options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit meetings into busy days, allow shorter check-ins when time is limited, and reduce travel time. The therapist uses the approaches above to help people apply skills between sessions and support changes that fit everyday life.
Areas of expertise
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
12+ years
Listed in
Australia
Languages
English, Tagalog
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she work with?
She works with stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, self-esteem, depression, parenting challenges and coping with life changes.
How does she approach shame or guilt?
She uses approaches such as CBT to examine thoughts and EFT to help name feelings, aiming to make guilt or shame more understandable and manageable in day-to-day life.
What is her clinical background?
She has 12 years' experience in trauma and mental health counselling and has worked in community mental health case management.
What credentials and location are listed?
She is a PACFA psychotherapist and social worker based in Australia.
Can sessions be held in other languages?
Sessions are offered in English and Tagalog.
Does she work with international clients?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are costs handled?
Fees vary with location and sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.