Therapist Karen Ward Photo

Karen Ward, LPC

Stress, Anxiety Relationships Trauma, Abuse Grief Depression
Video Phone Messaging

About me

Hello! My name is Karen Ward. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas with over 14 years of experience working as a counselor and a hypnotherapist. I have worked with individuals, couples, and families with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, parenting problems, past hurts, and OCD. I also helped many people who have experienced physical trauma or emotional abuse. In addition, I have much life experience that gives me compassion and a deeper understanding of what it may be like standing in your shoes. Congratulations on taking this first step in improving your life. Many people believe that seeking help from a therapist is a sign of weakness. But the contrary is true. It is a sign of great strength and wisdom. I will be glad to discuss this further with you if you would like.
I strongly believe you should feel comfortable with the therapist you choose, and hopeful about the therapy. When you feel this way, therapy is more likely to be extremely helpful to you. I like to think of my role as a passenger on your boat of life, helping you navigate through the rapids or the storms of your life. I will not steer your boat for you or tell you how to drive it. But I will teach you better skills and help you let go of your past failures or anchors that are weighing you down so that when the next rapids or storm hits, you are better prepared to navigate through the troubled waters to calmer seas.
My theoretical approach is based on the family system. Each of us has a family. This could be the family that raised us (parents, grandparents, foster parents, adopted parents, aunts and uncles, or other friends or extended family) or it could be people we respect and give us assistance and guidance when needed most. Any or all these people have contributed to our experiences, good or bad in life, and how we react to people or situations today. It is these family memories and experiences along with your personality and temperament that have brought you to the place you are in life today.

The most central ideas in my work are:
1. People are unique and deserve to be treated equally and with respect.
2. Families and society tend to judge people's worth and force them into conformity which may lead to anxiety, loss of self-esteem, depression, anger, rebellion, and other dysfunctional behaviors and psychological disorders.
3. Every person needs their own space and a purpose in life to have a sense of worth, hope, acceptance, empowerment, and the ability to make good choices and be responsible.
4. Therapy can help people change in a positive way so that they can live to their full potential.
5. Parents do the best they know how, and often repeat the dysfunctional patterns of their families.
6. Change can be difficult and may create stress in the family system and in the client. This can lead to the client reverting to the familiar way of coping with the stress and the stopping of all progress.
7. As the client's self-worth and outlook on life improves, change will occur and is permanent.

The goals of my treatment are tailored to the individual's uniqueness, willingness to change, and their personal issues. My hope is that everyone will discover their full potential and develop the healthy coping skills necessary to function in their family system and in society.

I look forward to helping you find peace and happiness in your life.

Professional experience

15yrs in practice
Stress, Anxiety Relationships Trauma, Abuse Grief Depression

Additional areas of focus: Addictions, LGBT, Family conflicts, Intimacy-related issues, Eating disorders, Sleeping disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coping with life changes, Compassion fatigue, ADHD, Abandonment, Aging and geriatric issues, Antisocial personality, Attachment issues, Avoidant personality, Blended family issues, Body image, Cancer, Caregiver issues and stress, Chronic pain, illness, and disability, Co-morbidity, Codependency, Commitment issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Coping with natural or human-caused disaster, Dependent personality, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD), Dissociation, Divorce and separation, Domestic violence, Drug and alcohol addiction, Eating and food-related issues, Emptiness, Family of origin issues, Family problems, Fatherhood issues, First responder issues, Forgiveness, Guilt and shame, Hoarding, Hospice and end-of-life counseling, Impulsivity, Infidelity, Isolation / loneliness, Jealousy, Life purpose, Men's issues, Midlife crisis, Military and veterans issues, Money and financial issues, Mood disorders, Multicultural concerns, Narcissism, Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD, Panic disorder and panic attacks, Paranoia, Personality disorders, Phobias, Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships, Postpartum depression, Post-traumatic stress, Pregnancy and childbirth, Prejudice and discrimination, Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-harm, Self-love, Sex addiction, Sexual assault and abuse, Sexual dysfunction, Sexuality, Smoking / vaping cessation, Social anxiety and phobia, Somatization, Traumatic brain injury, Trichotillomania, Women's issues, Workplace issues, Young adult issues

Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Existential Therapy, Gottman Method, Hypnotherapy, Jungian Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Somatic Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems

Services offered

Video
Phone
Messaging

License information

TX LPC 62778

Reviews

These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Karen Ward. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with BetterHelp might be different.

Karen has such a gentle demeanor. She makes me feel seen and heard.

Written on Sep 10, 2024 after therapy with Karen for 1 year and 5 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, and bipolar disorder

Awesome. Amazing. Probably saved my life. How is she not famous?!

Written on Jul 15, 2024 after therapy with Karen for 1 year and 2 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, and self esteem

Karen is hands down the best therapist/advocate I have met!! She meets me where I am and is extremely encouraging, and gives me the freedom to come to my own answers instead of spoon-feeding them to me, which feels 10x more empowering to know that I'm strong enough to do this life thing on my own.

Written on Jun 18, 2024 after therapy with Karen for 4 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, lgbt, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, intimacy-related issues, career difficulties, coping with life changes, and adhd

Karen is kind, compassionate, knowledgeable, but she won't hesitate to call me out if need be. She's exactly what I want and need in a therapist ❤️

Written on May 31, 2024 after therapy with Karen for 8 months on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, intimacy-related issues, sleeping disorders, and parenting issues

She truly seems to understand my experience and takes my whole person into.account

Written on May 23, 2024 after therapy with Karen for 2 weeks on issues concerning stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, coping with life changes, compassion fatigue, and adhd

She is a great listener.

Written on Feb 10, 2024 after therapy with Karen for 2 weeks on issues concerning depression, stress, anxiety, relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, self esteem, and anger management