Karen is Curriculum Lead at the Narrative-Based Medicine Lab (NBM Lab) and co-instructor for the Foundational Certificate in Narrative-Based Medicine.

Her approach to NBM has been shaped by a long-standing interest in health humanities, and over twenty-five years as a clinical social worker and hospital-based educator. She worked in a variety of outpatient medical and mental health settings, where she was also a clinical supervisor for social work, counseling, and creative arts students. As the Inter-professional Education Lead at Women’s College Hospital from 2010 – 2020, she developed programs to enhance reflective practice, patient-centered care, and collaboration. This included implementing a digital storytelling project for learners and clinical instructors, and a reflective writing group for clinicians. She also developed the narrative healthcare unit for the Interprofessional Certificate in Health, Arts & Humanities for learners at the University of Toronto.

She is a certified workshop facilitator for the Institute for Healthcare Communication and a writing workshop leader (Amherst method). She has facilitated community-based writing groups for diverse audiences, including a series on writing and well-being for the Toronto Artists Alliance.

Her doctoral studies (Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 2013) focused on narrative inquiry and writing by healthcare practitioners. During her studies she completed advanced narrative medicine training at Columbia University. Her scholarly interests include: narrative pedagogy, poetic inquiry, clinical communication, and clinician well-being. Her publications include a chapter on narrative medicine for The Sage Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice, an article on poetry and ethics training, and a personal essay on Mary Oliver.

Karen lives in Toronto and muses on narrative at Art of the Story Blog.