Karen Ralston

I joined the Held in our Hearts counselling team in 2024, and it has been a privilege to offer counselling support to many of our families who have experienced the loss of their precious baby. I work in person from our counselling room in Edinburgh on a Monday and online on a Tuesday.

My background is in education, with many years supporting children and families with additional support needs. My interest in working with loss and bereavement began as a Seasons for Growth companion, supporting children with change and loss in their lives.

In 2020 I fulfilled a long-held ambition to train as a counsellor, and throughout my training and ongoing counselling work I have found myself drawn to supporting others through loss and trauma. I have been particularly moved by my work with bereaved parents, from making space for their darkest moments of grief, to their process of mourning, and honouring their little one’s life. Both strength and vulnerability often go hand in hand in this grief journey.

I am a member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and follow their ethical framework.  And hold our values of empathy, connection and love at the heart of my work here at Held in our Hearts.

Counselling offers a way for us to journey together, to explore whatever experiences and difficulties surface along the way and to gently work together to find a path forward. By creating a compassionate safe space, I hope to honour each bereaved parent’s journey to talk about their baby, their loss and their life. Grief can at times bring other issues in life to the surface or feel more difficult amid this loss and together we can explore these in a way that suits you.

My hope is that counselling can help you to find your way forward, carrying your precious memories and bond with your little one with you.