Meet Karen

Receptionist

Karen joined Teenage Mental Health in 2026, bringing many years of experience working with children, families and the public.

Warm, approachable and naturally caring, she is often one of the first people families meet or speak to when they contact TMH. Karen helps that first interaction to feel calm and welcoming, while making sure people know what happens next and who they need to speak to.

Experience

Before joining TMH, Karen worked in reception and customer-facing roles, including within an optician’s practice, developing strong organisational, communication and administrative skills.

She also spent more than 12 years working in schools as a Teaching Assistant, supporting primary and secondary-aged children from a wide range of backgrounds.

During this time, Karen worked with young people experiencing emotional, behavioural and developmental difficulties and regularly supported parents, carers and school staff. She also helped run a nurture group within a secondary school, providing additional support to young people who were finding aspects of school or wider life difficult.

This broad experience means Karen has a strong understanding of some of the challenges young people and families may be dealing with when they first contact TMH, as well as the importance of responding with patience, sensitivity and practical support.

Qualifications and training

More than 12 years’ experience working in primary and secondary education
Experience supporting children with a range of emotional, behavioural and developmental needs
Experience supporting nurture group provision within secondary education
Reception, customer service and administrative experience

Karen's approach

Karen knows that reaching out for support can feel daunting for both young people and parents. She aims to make the practical side of that process as straightforward and reassuring as possible from the very first contact.

Her style is friendly, caring and down-to-earth, while also being organised and reliable. Whether welcoming someone to TMH, answering a question or helping a family connect with the right member of the team, Karen enjoys making people feel at ease.

Outside work, she is currently learning to play the drums and has ambitions of one day playing at Glastonbury. We can’t promise a Pyramid slot just yet, but we’re fully behind the plan.