Hi, I’m Kara.
An unquenchable curiosity about the human spirit has led me on my life journey. That curiosity launched my career as a writer and journalist many moons ago and still feeds me today as a therapist (License #MFC83478). I want to know more. Always. Also, I believe wholeheartedly that healing, growth, and experiencing life as a grounded, integrated person who has access to my own instincts, wisdom, and creativity is not only possible but necessary.
I have a background in art and creative expression, and a committed creative and spiritual practice that informs my clinical and educational work. I believe in the power of imagination, creativity, dream work, and free-flow writing to deepen self-knowledge and unleash fresh perspective. I also believe in using these tools to discover unrealized potential and inner resources.
Mindfulness practice and being in the here-and-now are a huge part of my work. I have had a personal meditation practice since 2008 and am formally trained in various orientations, including Vipassana.
I am also a teacher, feminist, and mother. I have spent more than a decade as an inclusive therapist working with individuals and couples toward healing and growth. I’m super excited for my first book, Baby Bomb - A Relationship Survival Guide for New Parents, (New Harbinger, 2021). Currently I live in Pioneertown, CA, and see clients via telehealth.
Education & Training:
Antioch University, Los Angeles, CA
M.A., Clinical psychology, with a specialization in spiritual and depth psychology
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
B.A., Comparative literature
Pacific Gestalt Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Certificate of Completion in the Weekend Training Program: Relational Gestalt Therapy – Integration of Theory and Practice, Years 1, 2, and 3
Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Archetypal and Cross-Cultural Studies Institute, Loveland, CO
Certificate of Completion in Singing Over the Bones, Years 1 and 2
Certificate of Completion in Mysterium: Psychology…In the Truest Sense of the Word
Certificate of Completion in Heart of the Wounded Healer: Walking in Two Worlds as Way of Life
The PACT Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Certification of Completion in PACT training Level I
Certification of Completion in PACT training Level II
University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA
Certification in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Group Psychotherapy Association of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Certification in Principles of Group Therapy