Cara Sams MA, LPC, EAGALA EXT: 3533
Cara Sams is a licensed professional counselor who has a master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling and Wilderness Therapy from Naropa University in Boulder, CO. She has been working in the field of mental health since 2007 and has experience supporting people with diverse needs. Prior to working at the Center at Heron Hill Cara worked for a large community mental health agency, a residential treatment program for youth and at an equine facilitated psychotherapy center. She has led wilderness trips for incoming university freshmen as well as summer camps for youth. She utilizes an intersectional social justice framework to inform her experiential, somatic, and mindfulness based approach.
Cara is a dynamic therapist who brings humor, curiosity, and creativity to relationships. She enjoys supporting people to connect to their spirit and spark and she is honored to be able to join clients on their journey towards improved vitality. Cara deeply trusts the wisdom of her clients and sees herself as a partner and guide in moving towards goals and improved wellbeing. Her connection with nature in its many variations is a foundation for the work she does. She assists clients in exploring their relationship with nature and how it informs other areas of their lives.
Cara is certified by the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA), and has specific training in EMDR, Motivational Interviewing, Gestalt, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Hakomi, Contemplative Psychology, Family Team Decision Making, play therapy, Ecopsychology, rites of passage, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. She specializes in working with trauma, grief and loss, LGBTQ+ youth and adults, attachment trauma, depression, anxiety, and psychosis. She works with children, teens, young adults, adults, and families. Cara has facilitated trainings regionally and nationally on the topics of utilizing experiential interventions in office based therapy, best practices for counseling people who are transgender, assessment and treatment for youth experiencing first episode psychosis, and considerations for choosing horses for an equine facilitated psychotherapy program.
