It’s nice to meet you!

I’m Carolyn.

Pronouns: She/Her

The Road to Social Work: The Doing

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and have had the pleasure of providing therapy to individuals, partners, and groups for just over a decade. I completed my Masters of Social Work (MSW) at San Diego State University with emphases in direct practice, health, and gerontology. I have spent the entirety of my social work career in healthcare settings, including acute care hospitals, outpatient clinics, hospice, and an international nonprofit. It’s at the intersection of physical and emotional health where I found my calling. Already intimately familiar with the patient experience, being able to provide clinical care in labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care, antepartum, oncology, and palliative care departments has been especially gratifying. Rarely, if ever, do we anticipate a health crisis, a catastrophic injury, a life-altering diagnosis, or an untimely death. While emergency services and specialized medicine can often amend physical traumas, overlooking the emotional impacts of such events can cause new injury.

I opened my private practice in 2021 while still working in a hospital and witnessing firsthand the collective losses of hospital patients, staff, and their loved ones. As a psychotherapist in private practice I specialize in working with individuals and families impacted by fertility challenges, pregnancy and infant loss, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, cancer, and caregiving. I have advanced training in perinatal mental health, oncology, and complicated grief. Many of us are taught that grief is a five-stage process that resolves in accepting the finality of a loved one’s death. In my practice I conceptualize grief as an ongoing process of adapting how we think, behave, and function in response to loss. Grief changes how we exist in the world. I believe that this new existence can be expansive for those who create space to feel every color of emotion. Death is a significant loss and it is just one example of the many losses we encounter in life. Other, intangible losses, such as loss of identity, loss of emotional security, loss of autonomy are equally legitimate sources of grief. Loss and grief in all presentations are valid and deserving of support.

With a client-centered approach to psychotherapy I utilize interventions that facilitate self-discovery, self-advocacy, and self-actualization. These interventions are found in acceptance and commitment, solution-focused, narrative, internal family systems, and mindfulness-based therapy modalities. We endeavor not to “get over” our grief. Rather, we explore and learn healthy and sustainable ways to live, heal, and grow through some of life’s greatest challenges. Building supportive relationships with my clients is a sincere joy. Please reach out to discuss if I may be the right therapist for you.