Kara (she/her/hers)

In 2016, I completed a doctorate in Education here at UC Santa Barbara where I specialized in university writing and international students' experiences. Many years prior, my love for psychology and the mysterious began in adolescence when I first studied dreams, archetypes, synchronicities, and symbols. I read frequently at the intersections of psychology and mysticism. As an adult, psychology remained with me through various academic and non-academic careers, and I longed to go deeper which is what led me to enroll in my current counseling psychology program that specializes in depth psychology (and other counseling psychologies). 

My approach to counseling focuses on the journey of selfhood as reflected by awakenings, transitions, and inflection points. I embrace mutual expansiveness as we explore what it means to have a sense of self in relation to each other, interpersonal relationships, heritage, community, and the wider collective. With many years of university teaching, research, meditation, and yoga, my therapeutic perspective engages you on many levels where we consider your psyche - and also your body, your energy, and your place in the world. 

I provide in-person counseling services to students at UCSB CAPS as well as teletherapy for a statewide low-cost community mental health clinic called The Liberation Institute. People often want to process fear, stress, voicelessness, disconnection, stuckness, or sadness. Other times, people are experiencing curiosity, sensitivity, or confusion. If you are inclined, I can help you work with dreams and symbolic or intuitive experiences. All of you is welcome here. 

Outside of counseling, I enjoy travel, nature, design, volunteering, and rainy days. I have lived in various U.S. regions and am conversant about small towns, big cities, and everything in between.