About Karen Johnson-Carere

Karen Johnson Carere is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and a member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. She holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and completed her internship at MyLife Counselling under the supervision of Clinical Director Mark Nixon.

For over 25 years, Karen has supported individuals and families through some of life’s most challenging transitions. As a longtime Parent Educator at the Guelph Community Health Centre, she was often the person families turned to for guidance, support, and a compassionate listening ear. Her move into psychotherapy was a natural extension of this work, allowing her to provide deeper emotional support to those navigating life’s complexities.

Karen brings a warm, down to earth approach that combines professional training with real life experience. As a parent, cancer survivor, and someone who has navigated burnout and major life transitions herself, she understands how overwhelming it can feel when life becomes difficult or uncertain. She is passionate about helping clients feel less alone, better understood, and more confident in their ability to move forward.

Outside of the therapy room, Karen enjoys walking her rescue dog Wesley, cycling local trails, paddle boarding on Guelph Lake, travelling, learning about new cultures, and spending time cooking and sharing meals with her husband and two adult sons.

Parenting, Attachment & Relationship Issues

Becoming a parent changes everything. Your identity, relationships, priorities, and sense of control can all shift in ways you never expected. Whether you are adjusting to life with a new baby, navigating the demands of raising children, or trying to stay connected with your teen or young adult, parenting can feel both rewarding and overwhelming.

Drawing on attachment theory and the Circle of Security framework, Karen helps parents better understand the patterns that shape how they connect, communicate, and respond to challenges within their relationships. She works with concerns such as emotional overwhelm, burnout, shifting family dynamics, anxiety, self doubt, and the everyday struggles that many parents carry quietly.

Karen offers a supportive, judgment free space where you can explore the kind of parent you want to be, strengthen your relationships, and build more secure connections with yourself and the people who matter most. Whether you are facing parenting challenges, family conflict, relationship difficulties, or feelings of disconnection, she helps clients navigate these experiences with greater confidence, compassion, and understanding.

Perimenopause/Menopause & Postpartum Issues

Hormonal and life transitions can have a significant impact on emotional wellbeing. Whether you are coping with postpartum anxiety or depression, adjusting to life with a new baby, or navigating the emotional and physical changes of perimenopause, Karen understands how overwhelming and isolating these experiences can feel.

She provides a compassionate space to process anxiety, mood changes, stress, exhaustion, and uncertainty. Together, you can explore ways to care for yourself, strengthen your support system, and move through these transitions with greater confidence and self compassion.

Midlife Transitions

Midlife has a way of arriving all at once. You may be caring for aging parents while raising older children, navigating career changes or retirement, adjusting to an empty nest, or wondering what comes next as the roles that once defined you begin to shift.

These changes can bring feelings of anxiety, loss, burnout, and uncertainty. Karen is especially passionate about this work because she has lived through many of these experiences herself. With both clinical expertise and genuine empathy, she helps clients navigate life’s transitions, reconnect with their strengths, and rediscover a sense of purpose and meaning in the next chapter of their lives.

Health Anxiety

A health challenge or diagnosis can shake the foundation of your life. Whether you are coping with health anxiety, adapting to a chronic illness, navigating a cancer diagnosis, or living with uncertainty about your future, Karen understands the emotional impact these experiences can have.

As a cancer survivor herself, she brings both professional expertise and lived experience to this work. Karen helps clients manage worry, build resilience, process grief and uncertainty, and reconnect with what matters most, even when life feels unpredictable. She offers a grounded and compassionate space to navigate the emotional challenges that can come with illness and health related concerns.

Email: karen.johnson-carere@mylifecounselling.ca
Phone: 1-800-828-9484 (ext. 110)