Karen Martin, Associate
Karen has completed a Bachelor of Psychology with Honours from the University of New South Wales, and a Master of Counselling Psychology from Macquarie University. She also has a Bachelor of Primary Education from the University of Sydney.Karen has experience working with both adults and children in a broad range of areas, including anxiety, depression and other mood difficulties, relationship issues, wellbeing, confidence and self esteem, stress management, family therapy, and family of origin work. She has also received training helping people deal with the psychological aspects of a cancer diagnosis.
One of Karen’s primary areas of expertise is anxiety. She has received specialist training working with anxiety at the Macquarie University Emotional Health Clinic (formerly Macquarie University Anxiety and Research Unit), which is a leading Sydney-based anxiety treatment and research center. Anxiety issues and disorders that Karen works with include separation anxiety, panic attacks and panic disorder, specific phobias (such as a fear of animals, public transport, elevators, injections), health anxiety, excessive worries and generalised anxiety, fear of public speaking, obsessions and compulsions, and social anxiety.
Karen is also skilled at working with family issues, whether on an individual basis or with families as a whole. She helps people to identify family patterns, whether past or present, that may be impacting on their wellbeing. She subsequently assists people to develop more constructive relationships with their families and/or alter individual patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating that may have origins in early family experiences.
As well as working with adults Karen has considerable expertise helping children to overcome anxiety and related difficulties. Prior to becoming a psychologist Karen worked as a primary school teacher, both in classroom teaching and teaching children with special needs. As a psychologist she has treated children with anxiety disorders and their parents, and enjoys working with social, academic, and psychological issues such as childhood fears and anxieties, school refusal, sleep problems, excessive worries, concentration/attention problems, perfectionism, bullying, and other social difficulties.
An area that Karen particularly enjoys working with involves assisting people to achieve optimal levels of wellness and wellbeing, and enhancing functioning across all areas of life.
In addition to her clinical work, Karen has lectured postgraduate psychology students in counselling skills. Karen has conducted honours level research focused on strategies utilised in decision-making, and her Masters research explored the underlying cognitive processes involved in reading. Karen has also been involved in multiple research studies exploring psychosocial and mental health issues among individuals diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Karen is a very understanding and empathic therapist, with excellent counselling and clinical skills. She is dedicated to remaining current in her psychological knowledge, and keeping abreast of thinking across a wide range of areas in psychology. As a result she is able to be flexible in her approach with clients and is skilled at adapting therapy to meet the needs of individual people.
Karen is fully registered with the NSW Psychologists' Registration Board, and is a full member of the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Psychological Society College of Clinical Psychologists. She is also a member of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy, and the Anxiety Practitioners' Network.