Karen Hartfield, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Venice, FL, who works with all ages to support individuals in their experiences of overwhelming emotions or changes in life, It is my desire to provide a place of safety and acceptance in which people may explore their feelings, process current and past experiences, and come to a better understanding of themselves. It is my goal to provide children, adolescents, and adults with whatever assistance I can in their journeys to recognize and claim their own inner strength.

I work with a range of ages, assisting young children and adolescents who are facing challenges or experiencing confusion in their world. I counsel struggling teenagers and adults who are experiencing anxiety, encountering crises, or who desire to create personal change. I start with clients where they currently find themselves, and, in addition to talk therapy, employ breathing and relaxation techniques. And as the right words cannot always be found, I also offer Jungian-based Sandplay Therapy to all my clients.

Sandplay therapy has become a passion for me. I regularly engage in consultation with other Sandplay therapists and continue my training in this modality, both on the national and international levels. I see how Sandplay therapy is a universal “language” and cuts across cultural differences.

Sandplay Therapy uses two trays of a particular size filled with sand (one dry, and one damp with water) and a variety of miniatures that can be placed in the tray to create a scene or image. In this very simple act of creation, the trays provide a means of expressing and processing experiences and feelings that bypass the thinking brain and access more of the subconscious. This can bring to light what is not otherwise visible. Healing can come, not from the interpretation of the “completed” Sandtray, but in the expression of the image itself.

I open-heartedly welcome people of all religious identification, gender orientation, and cultural experience, with the recognition that I always learn from those with whom I work.