My Approach
I specialize in a promising practice called Acceptance and Integration Training® (AAIT™), founded by Melanie McGhee as a result of her 30+ years therapeutic practice and decades of study with master psychologists, including Zivorad Slavinski and Dick Olney. AAIT™ is different than traditional “talk therapy”; it uses processes that quickly alleviate negative emotional charges and help one experience a place of relief, acceptance and wholeness. Learn more about AAIT™ here.
I have spent 20+ years as a psychotherapist. My practice combines both psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapies. After completing an intensive 10 month study of AAIT™, this is my preferred method of treatment. I work with clients 14 years and older.
In addition, I have a wonderful Goldendoodle, Kodiak, who has been training to be a therapy dog so he will be in many of my sessions.
The Principles of AAIT™ that Guide My Therapeutic Practice
The true self is not encumbered by the limitations of a narrative. The true self is a being.
The true self is ever changing, not stuck in the past. Our true self moves through the story and is not stuck in the story of who we believe we are. In traditional talk therapy, sometimes we get stuck in the why. You’ll come to feel that the 'why" isn't really important. Using AAIT, we can switch from "why" to simply being; that is, directly experiencing our true self who is empty of thoughts and just “is.”
Taking responsibility for and tending to our inner state is the source of our freedom.
During our time together, you will learn tools daily practice that allow you to take the driver’s seat of your life and take an honest look at areas of your life where you currently feel like you aren’t able to do that. When we tend to ourselves in this way, much like we do our hygiene, we recognize just how much choice we really have. I will guide you through this process of awakening to your own power.
Self-acceptance is a means and measure of well-being.
When we deny a part of ourselves, it affects us adversely. When we can profoundly accept the parts of ourselves that society, our families of origin, or even ourselves have once deemed unacceptable, we give ourselves the enormous superpower of showing up authentically in the world. According to AAIT founder Melanie McGhee, self-acceptance isn’t about liking or approving of, it is about feeling without resistance or denial. We will use self-acceptance as a way of knowing you are healing.
Integration of two opposing states can alleviate psychological suffering.
Giving a voice to an undesired thought, image, emotion or body sensation helps break up the power of it. It's like a hard block of concrete breaking up. When we can feel two choices (two opposing states) simultaneously, it helps us make intentional decisions from a less charged place. I will teach you how to do this during our sessions.
Resolving reactivity reveals higher states of consciousness.
When we go through life operating out of all the rules and shoulds that our society imposes on us, unaware of the here and now, waiting on some THING to bring us happiness, we are operating out of our conditioned self, in a lower level of consciousness. By resolving this type of autopilot reactivity, AAIT allows us to cultivate higher levels of consciousness: those times when you feel at one with the universe - when you look in someone's eyes and connect far beyond your own doing - when the perfect note is sung in a song - when the perfect dance is performed and the audience is quiet and in awe.
The non-dual states of empty consciousness are an indication and mechanism of transformation. Cultivating an awareness of these states contributes to increases in present-focused attention, empathy, self-compassion, and more skillful choices.
When I first experienced an AAIT process, the “pleroma” or non-dual state was as close to nothingness as I've ever felt. The more awe-inspiring moments or pleroma states you have, the less reactive you become, allowing you the space to make clear, crisp decisions about how to proceed in life (or not). You are able to be more in the here and now (which is all we really have) and be more mindful of the next step. The processes we do together will allow you to access these transformational states reliably.
What people are saying
“Carla is the only practitioner who I've ever worked with who can take what I say and hear it the way I understand it. She takes the pieces I give her and reflects it back as if I had given her the whole.”
— Transgender man in blended family
“Carla is very good at what she does.”
— Woman who went through a traumatic illness
“Carla is genuinely a healer. But not the kind that just does it for you. She meets you where you’re at, guiding you through places within yourself that you never thought would see the light of day. She gives you the tools to heal yourself, combining the intuitive with the practical. There’s nothing more empowering than knowing you have the ability to heal yourself from the inside out, with kindness rather than shame. It makes all the difference having someone you really respect on your team, believing in you.”
— Young adult with ADHD, Anxiety, Depression