Carla Naragon, LMFT

I have spent the last 26 years working with people struggling to recover from the debilitating effects of PTSD.  Along the way I have taught women’s empowerment classes, run addiction recovery groups and facilitated healthy communication skills workshops.  Regardless of the venue or population the common threads that apply to every process include compassion for self and others, discovery of one’s own natural resilience and the instillation of hope for a happier and healthier life.  
Go to interventions include:
Somatic Experiencing (S.E.) – I think of this process as waking up and welcoming back the sleeping parts of ourselves that feel lost, hopeless and overwhelmed as a result of past T/trauma..  S.E. involves gently increasing your awareness of the language of your mind (thoughts, images, symbols), the language of your body (sensations), and the language of your spirit (emotions), thus inviting your whole self to rise up and have a voice.  Allowing yourself to feel and release the emotional charge connected to painful memories will release energy you can use to live your best life.  When the emotional pain is released, the memory takes its rightful place in back of your mind instead of haunting you in the present.
Gestalt Empty Chair – Some people come to therapy wishing they could cut out and remove the parts of themselves they love to hate.  That’s not possible.  In fact the more we try to trash unwanted parts of self the more depressed we become.  Gestalt empty chair is a powerful modality that helps us to discover the language, compassion and kindness necessary to welcome home our inner outcast.  
Didactic Education – There is always something new to learn, like the difference between pity and compassion, the basics of healthy communication or the empowering side effects of creating healthy boundaries.    The best part is that you get to decide what you want to learn about because after all it is all about you!