About Karen
Experienced care. Genuine connection.
Choosing a psychologist means choosing a person. Here’s a little about who you’d be talking to.
Karen’s story
In Karen’s words
I have always been interested in people: what shapes us, why we respond the way we do, and how experiences from our past can continue to influence our lives and relationships.
Over more than 20 years as a psychologist, I have worked in many different settings, but a significant part of my career has been working with trauma, Defence personnel, veterans and first responders. Having worked within the Department of Defence and Open Arms, I understand military culture and some of the particular challenges that come with service, trauma and transitioning into civilian life.
I particularly enjoy working with people who have experienced trauma or who find themselves repeating patterns they don’t fully understand. I don’t believe therapy should just be about managing symptoms. I like helping people understand where their patterns came from, why they made sense at the time, and how they can begin to do things differently.
I am fairly down-to-earth as a psychologist. I want people to feel comfortable sitting in the room with me and able to talk openly without feeling judged or analysed. Therapy can involve difficult conversations, but there is also room for humour and just being human.
Ultimately, I hope people leave therapy understanding themselves better and feeling more confident about making the changes that matter to them.
Karen Tepper
Background
Professional background
Karen has more than 20 years of experience across a broad range of psychology and mental health settings.
Defence and veterans
- 2016 to 2019: psychologist with the Department of Defence (Australian Public Service), providing psychological services within the Defence environment
- 2019 to 2021: psychologist with Open Arms, Veterans & Families Counselling, in Tasmania, supporting veterans, serving members and their families
- Since 2021: private practice, including treatment for clients referred through Open Arms and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
That experience gives Karen an established understanding of military culture and the psychological impact of service, trauma, transition from Defence and adjustment to civilian life.
Other settings
Karen’s experience also includes Centrelink, adult and child community mental health services, community youth forensic mental health services in Queensland, and work within a correctional setting at Capricornia Correctional Centre near Rockhampton.
She has spent many years in private practice, both before and after her roles with Defence and Open Arms, working with clients through Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plans, Employee Assistance Programs, workers compensation schemes and private referrals, with adolescents and adults presenting with a wide range of psychological, relationship, workplace and life difficulties.
Qualifications & registration
Training and credentials
- Master of Clinical Psychology (Advanced Entry) with Distinction, Central Queensland University, 2024
- Graduate Diploma of Clinical Psychology, James Cook University, 2015
- Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), Northern Territory University, 2001
- Registered psychologist with Ahpra (registration number PSY0000966688)
- Registered Medicare provider
- Provides treatment to DVA clients with a D904 referral from a GP
Registration can be checked on the Ahpra public register.
Therapeutic approach
How Karen works
Trauma-informed care
A trauma-informed approach means paying attention to safety, trust, choice and control in every session. You won’t be pushed to describe events before you’re ready, and you’ll always know why you’re being asked something.
Schema Therapy
Schema Therapy is an integrative approach that helps people understand long-standing patterns: the ways of thinking, feeling and reacting that often started early in life and can keep showing up in relationships, work and self-talk. Karen uses it to help people make sense of why certain situations hit so hard, and to build healthier ways of meeting their own needs.
Practical strategies
Alongside deeper work, sessions include practical tools for things like sleep, stress, anger, concentration and communication. These are strategies you can use between appointments.
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is a structured, evidence-based therapy for working through distressing memories, so they feel less raw and have less hold over the present. EMDR sessions are usually longer, at 90 minutes.
Karen also draws on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and mindfulness-based approaches. Therapy is tailored to you, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
Values
What you can expect from Karen
01
Respect
You’re the expert on your own life. Karen brings the psychology; you bring what matters to you.
02
Honesty
Clear, direct conversations, including about what therapy can and can’t offer.
03
Rapport
Trust is built, not assumed. It’s fine to take time to decide whether this is the right fit.
04
Discretion
Confidentiality is taken seriously, particularly for people in public-facing or security-sensitive roles.
05
Practicality
Therapy should connect to real life: work, family, sleep, and the things you want to get back to.
06
Steadiness
A calm, consistent presence, especially when things feel anything but.
Take the next step
If you’d like to talk with Karen, the first step is simple.
Send a short enquiry or call the practice. You don’t need to explain everything upfront.