Carla is a professional, licensed psychotherapist with experience providing attachment-based and trauma-informed treatment to individuals who are experiencing anxiety, depression, grief and loss, interpersonal conflict, shame, trauma and difficult life transitions.
Carla’s therapeutic approach is driven by the client’s individual needs, goals, and hopes. This collaborative and dynamic process integrates cognitive and experiential elements from different evidenced-based models. Carla believes that the processing and integration of challenging experiences can lead to personal growth. She works from a strength-based perspective to create the appropriate support and safe environment where clients can identify their inner resiliency and find purpose to thrive in their lives.
Carla received her clinical master’s degree from Columbia University School of Social Work, and completed the two-year certification program at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York City, specializing in attachment, trauma, and neuroscience. Her special interests are in the mind-body connection, intergenerational trauma, and post-traumatic growth.
Carla integrates Affect Regulation Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SMT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Mindful-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), as well as tools of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Carla has previously worked at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in New York City and the YWCA, Domestic Violence Services in Connecticut. Before becoming a therapist, Carla was the director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Innovest, a consultant company in NY, and had an international career including the United Nations. This experience helped her develop a pragmatic approach as a therapist and gave her a unique understanding of workplace issues, change, and executive functioning.
Carla enjoys playing board games with her children, painting, reading, and swimming.