I am passionate about helping pregnant ladies and new parents. I have a wide range of experience helping with anxiety and low mood during pregnancy and postnatally.
I also specialise in supporting people who are going through fertility treatment, have had difficult fertility journeys, traumatic births, premature labours including NICU stays and / or who have lost a child/ children. I have personally experienced multiple miscarriages, as well as a Stillbirth. So I really do understand how devastating it is struggle with fertility and to lose a baby.
In July 2023, I will also be launching the first ever fertility and baby-loss support membership for employees. For more information check out the Baby Loss Membership page.
I also have extensive experience supporting bereaved parents of older children, due to suicide, accidents, road traffic collisions and/or medical conditions.
Session practicalities
I can meet with one parent individually or I’m happy to work with parents together as a couple, where appropriate. Sessions offer a supportive space to talk through your experiences or loss. A range of psychological therapies may be utilised depending on the issue you wish to work with. For example, the aim may be to reduce anxiety, intrusive thoughts, irritability or low mood.
I am EMDR – trauma therapy trained and have been through the accreditation process with the EMDR Association. Having therapy to process the trauma of a traumatic birth or loss can be extremely helpful.
You may need support to feel like you can survive your crippling grief. You may just need a listening ear from someone who really understands. No request is too big or too small. I am happy to see children / siblings and to offer advice to family/ friends/ partners who wish to support others struggling with peri or postnatal difficulties, including loss.
All services are currently delivered online.
Maternity and Transition Coaching
I have also undertaken specialist training in providing maternity coaching. I love helping new mums transition back to work after maternity leave and helping women generally with juggling the demands of being a working mum.
Furthermore, I am trained on transition coaching and find this can be really useful for loss parents when they return to work. My clinical experience has taught me that many organisations are not sure how to effectively support staff returning to work after baby loss. Consequently, I enjoy delivering webinars and training to organisations and line managers, which helps the staff who attend and enables them to better support their employees affected by infertility and loss.
Free services for loss families
I offer free monthly support groups to loss parents (on Zoom). They take place on the first Sunday of every month. Please join at 7.30pm if you wish to discuss your loss. Or at 8.30pm if you want to discuss trying to conceive after loss, a rainbow pregnancy or adjusting to becoming a rainbow parent.
Please note, you do not need to have your camera or microphone on. There is no pressure to talk, you can simply listen in to the groups. Many people report that these groups help them feel less alone. If you would like monthly reminder emails for the support groups, please click on this link http://supportingthesilentstruggle.co.uk/monthly-support-group/
I am aware that support groups aren’t for everyone. So I also answer questions which are PM’d to me. Some frequently asked questions have been answered and uploaded to my YouTube Channel. Please feel free to browse and watch them. No information is provided that identifies any individuals who asks a question. To find my YouTube channel please search Kara Clinical Psychologist in Sussex
Health professionals
I have experience in providing therapy to other therapists and health professionals. In addition, I offer teaching, training, consultation and supervision to health professionals, NHS teams and charity volunteers such as SANDS befrienders.
Resources/ books
Books are a great way of processing emotionally sensitive topics. I couldn’t find any children’s books to help siblings talk about pregnancy after loss. So I wrote one titled ‘There’s a Rainbow baby in my Mummy’s tummy. To find out more, please visit- https://amzn.to/2IdJBrt
I have also written a case study in ‘The Grief Collective’ describing my stillbirth grief journey. This is available at: https://amzn.to/34LdJCe
In addition, I have written a guide for newly bereaved families regarding how to make memories and say goodbye to your baby whilst still in hospital. It was written for specifically for my local hospital but could be beneficial to parents in any hospital. I also compiled a leaflet for parents who have had a traumatic loss regarding how to identify trauma symptoms in amongst the grief. You can access all the free resources that I have created for bereaved parents here https://linktr.ee/alwaysinmyheart
Oscar’s Wish Foundation
I am a volunteer Trustee for the wonderful Sussex based baby loss charity called Oscar’s Wish Foundation (OWF). Please do check out the great support and services that they offer. You can add them on Facebook or visit their website to find out more.
Medico Legal Assessments and Therapy
Many of the families I support are involved in court proceedings concerning medical negligence. I am very happy to support individuals with this process. I am also available to provide therapy recommended in other professionals medico legal assessment reports concerning birth trauma and loss. Please contact me to discuss this further.