Karen Bali - About Me

I am married with two children and work from a home office near Southampton.

My Services, Qualifications and Experience

Genealogy and Tracing

My interest in research started when I worked for the library service. I liked finding facts, searching records and looking through historical documents. I developed an interest in genealogy (family history) and researched my own family, finding information back to the 1700s.

I found that I was able to apply some of the skills used in family history to trace living people too and I set up people search in 1997.

For the first 3 years I worked part time in the library whilst building my business and reputation as a competent people finder, but now run the business full time.

At first I helped people to find friends and relatives but now undertake legal, adoption and historical research.

I am a member of the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA). To be accepted as a member of this organisation, work is assessed and approved by a panel of senior members. All AGRA members work to a code of practice.

Counselling

In a previous life (before children) I trained to become a counsellor. I completed a diploma level part time course over three years at Southampton Pastoral Counselling service (affiliated to WPF counselling and psychotherapy). I was accepted as a volunteer counsellor and saw clients twice a week for almost two years before leaving for the birth of my second child in 1993.

My counselling training has helped enormously in my new career as a researcher. Dealing with sensitive issues such as divorce, estrangement and unclaimed estates calls for compassion, good listening skills and a great deal of tact. Many clients have appreciated this as much as the research itself.