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In Carla’s words
The couples I do my best work with
I do my best work with couples who feel stuck in the same painful cycle and are ready to understand what’s happening underneath it. I especially love working with neurodivergent couples and partners carrying the weight of complex trauma, chronic mental health concerns or high-stress seasons. Couples navigating adoption, foster care or blended family dynamics are a natural fit given my background in family systems. I’m comfortable with intensity, so high-conflict couples or those who’ve tried therapy before and felt it didn’t go deep enough are always welcome.
My style in the room
Warm, direct and grounded. I use Emotionally Focused Therapy as my foundation, weaving in somatic work and attachment science so we slow down and notice what’s happening in your bodies and between you in real time. I’ll gently interrupt the cycle when it shows up in session, help each of you name the feelings underneath the reactions and guide you toward new ways of reaching for each other. I bring honesty, curiosity and a lot of steadiness, especially when things get heated.
Clients often tell me they appreciate…
How calm I stay when things get intense, that I’m direct without ever making them feel judged and that they feel truly seen as individuals and as a couple. Many say they finally understand the pattern behind their fights, or have the words to describe their experience.
Outside the therapy room…
This work asks a lot of me, so I take my recovery seriously. That might look like getting playful and silly, curling up with a good book or getting lost in a really good show.
Not the right fit for
I refer out couples who are only looking for quick solutions or communication skills. My couples work is about long-term restructuring of the relationship. We slow down, get underneath the patterns that keep you stuck and build a more secure bond over time. Couples who want a shorter, skills-based approach are often a better fit with a provider who specializes in that, and I’m always happy to help connect them.
Carla works with
- Communication & conflict
- High conflict and reactivity
- Parenting & co-parenting
- Trauma
- Chronic illness & health challenges
Approaches
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Communities served
- BIPOC
- Latino/a & Latine
- LGBTQ+
- Multicultural / immigrant
- Neurodivergent
- Indigenous