Meet the Team

Dr Karen Kershaw

Clinical Director and Consultant Clinical Psychologist

Karen joined Psychology Associates in 2017 and within her work she specialises in supporting children and families with difficulties such as developmental trauma, anxiety and low mood. She also undertakes complex assessments with families to help them better understand their needs and what support might be useful. 

Karen really enjoys the broad range of work that she gets to be involved in, the friendly, supportive atmosphere of our team and the ability to be versatile and adapt our way of working quickly based on the needs of the families we support. 

Outside of work, Karen loves being outdoors, taking walks or swimming, and on rainier days she enjoys a good competitive board game with family or friends. 

As you may be aware, on the 14th April 2025 the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) announced changes to the Fair Access limit with a reduction of funding to £3000 and the discontinuation of the separate Fair Access Limit for specialist assessments.

We are currently working really hard to amend quotes for ongoing therapy work to fit within the new Fair Access Limit and working closely with Adopt South West and other local RAAs. We are also working closely with other specialist adoption support providers and therapeutic organisations including DDP connects and Theraplay UK to explore how we can continue to deliver specialist therapies within this limit.

If you are waiting for a new package of therapy please look out for correspondence from ASW or your regional adoption support agency, as they will need to regain your consent for the amended therapy contract.

If you are concerned about the impact of the delay on your family or have questions about the therapy or assessment you are waiting for please get in touch with Ellen or Jen and we will do our best to support you.

We will be contributing to a wider response to this and the following is a link to a petition requesting government action – Petition · Action Against ASGSF Changes (Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund) – United Kingdom · Change.org