Karen Wright

Karen is an integrative psychotherapist and arts psychotherapist registered with BAAT and HCPC. 

Karen is the joint Course Leader and Senior Lecturer for the MA in Psychotherapy and Counselling Year 3 (Integrative Pathway) and Postgraduate Certificate in Integrative Psychotherapy.

Karen holds a PhD from Goldsmiths University and completed her MA at the University of Hertfordshire. Karen has also completed training in DBT.

Karen has many years’ experience in private practice as well as within the NHS. She is an approved BAAT, accredited private practitioner and supervisor having set up and established her private psychotherapy practice 21 years ago, working mainly with young people and families, as well as offering supervision to therapists, counsellors, teachers and support workers. Karen manages a group of art psychotherapists within her private practice.

In Karen’s previous work within the NHS as a band 8a senior clinician and part of the senior management team, she provided specialist psychotherapy, integrative, DBT and specialised art psychotherapy. During her time working in the NHS, Karen developed and taught interventions and programmes of care such as, art psychotherapy with DBT, a condensed model of DBT and a social justice orientated psychotherapy which gave good patient outcomes. She was the lead on patient participation as well as leading on organising away days for staff wellbeing and training. Karen has successfully supervised and mentored many mental health trainees over the years.

Wright, T and Wright, K. (2022), ‘Proposing a justice approach to ethics of care in art psychotherapy’,
In The Arts in Psychotherapy. Elsevier Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2022.101912

Wright, K. (2021), ‘The Re/Imaginings in Art Psychotherapy for Girls and Young Women’, In International Advances in Art Therapy Research and Practice: The Emerging Picture. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Wright, T. and Wright, K. (2017), ‘Exploring the benefits of intersectional feminist social justice approaches in art psychotherapy’, in The Arts in Psychotherapy. Volume 54: 7-14. Elsevier Publishing. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2017.02.008

Bruty, L., Haas, M., Le Feuvre, E., Peisley, T., Royal, L., Wright, K. & Wright, T. (2017), ‘I would have been/could be amazing: a social justice oriented visual art rejoinder to Whole Earth?’, Sustainability in higher education: challenges and opportunities, conference proceedings, Canterbury Christ Church University. [online]. Available at https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/about-us/docs/2016-sustainability-conference-proceedings.pdf

Deboys, R. Holttum, S & Wright, K. (2016), ‘Processes of change in school-based art therapy with children: A systematic qualitative study’ in The International Journal of Art Therapy. Volume 3, pp. 118-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/17454832.2016.1262882

Wright, T. and Wright, K. (2013), ‘Art for women’s sake: Understanding feminist art therapy as didactic practice re-orientation‘, in International Practice Development Journal, Volume 3, Conference Supplement, Article 5, March 2013, [online] Available at http://www.fons.org/library/journal/volume3-conferencesupplement/article5

Wright, K ‘Knowledge Exchange Project’ - brief report on project is ‘Evidencing the benefits of feminist approaches to art therapy’ in the British Association of Art Therapist (BAAT) News briefing, December 2014

Problematising Wellbeing: Critical Feminism and Practices of care in the Arts Therapies for The Spaces Between: Equity, Voice, Agency, and Care Practices Involving the Arts and Arts Therapies seminar 21st July 2023.

The re/imaginings in art psychotherapy for girls and young women at The International Art Therapy Practice/Research Conference at Queen Mary University of London. 11-13th July 2019.

Research-interests: critical feminism, gender, class, body image, gender and social media.

Karen has expertise in qualitative research. Her recent research centres on the service user’s voice in psychotherapy; interviewing them about their experience, enabling them to have a say in the design of future therapy.

Karen has authored on her research on critical feminist approaches to art psychotherapy
and has jointly authored and published on critical praxis, feminist, intersectional, social justice, and social action approaches in arts therapy praxis.

Karen has experience of supervising at level 8 (DClinPsy).

• HCPC
• BAAT