Hi, I'm Carla
When your loved one's PTSD turns your life upside down, I'm here to help you RISE UP
Here's my PTSD story:
Just over 10 years ago, our family was thrown a curve ball when my beloved partner, Murray, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His symptoms, his eventual diagnosis and his recovery journey turned our lives upside down. It was an exhausting and emotional journey.
I felt like I was on a roller coaster - and I'm NOT a fan of roller coasters!
It was a challenging and scary time for me - and really for both of us, as partners and parents.
And, while I’m grateful that Murray could access the therapies and treatment he needed, I was completely in the dark.
As a partner of a trauma survivor, I felt isolated, unsupported and overwhelmed.
My emotional state threatened my marriage and negatively affecting how I showed up as a parent.
I felt pretty hopeless.
But I’m naturally optimistic and resourceful. So I rolled up my sleeves and started researching how to support and heal myself so I could better support my family.
I did a LOT of reading!
I tried finding help and support everywhere: my physician, local mental health nurses, coaching, therapists and alternative healing practices.
You name it, I tried it.
And over time I found the right combination of self-care and self-regulation tools, coaching and therapies that began to work for me.
The darkness and heaviness inside of me lifted.
I started to feel like my old self again.
I began to heal from the grief of losing the life I thought I’d have.
I felt hope for my future and my family again.
"Carla helps you look after yourself."
"If you're ready to focus on yourself and your own role in the PTSD journey, then I would recommend working with Carla. It's not about fixing your partner. It's about you looking after you."
Christine — Group Program client
"Carla entered into my life at a time where I was kinda lost. I was really struggling with the relationships in my life. Carla and I really connected, I felt like she really understood me. She helped me understand the most important relationship — that was with myself! In order to be present and the best for those people in my life I needed to love me first! Carla was able to help me create a way for me to come back to me, take a moment, take a breath and understand the only approval I need is mine! And with that my relationships around me have gotten stronger!"
R — Private Coaching Client
Supporting my family's well-being
Today, I have tools to manage my own emotions and support my family.
When *stuff* hits the fan (because it will), I have strategies to find my calm again, and even to have a little fun!
If you'd love to feel this way too, I'm here to share these healing tools with you so that you can rise above whatever’s weighing you down.
"I highly recommend Carla"
"I would highly recommend Carla to anyone. Anyone who's feeling stuck. Anyone who feels like they need a change or a different environment to clear the head.
If you want to find a new way of thinking, or a new perspective on your life, she's definitely the one to help you get there."
— L
"Carla is very personable and she has a wealth of life experience that she brings into it. She does such a great job as a teacher and as a coach to turn it back to you and to have you do your own work in order to make your own progress."
— A
"My experience was great — it was emotional, but very freeing. I was able to talk about my feelings and what I wanted to move forward with in my life. I felt very free afterwards and very thankful to Carla for helping me get there."
— S
Training & Credentials
- Transformational Coach with specialization in Somatic Stress Release and Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT/Tapping)
- Certified Emotional Success Specialist (National Emotional Freedom Technique Training Institute (NeftTI))
- Nationally Certified MASTER Conscious EFT™ Practitioner (NeftTi)
- Internationally Accredited, Advanced EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Tapping Practitioner (EFT International)
- Somatic Stress Release Practitioner™
- BA in Psychology & Sociology
Recent Speaking Engagements and Workshops
- Justice Alberta Sponsored keynote presentation for Two Hills & Area first responders and their loved ones and families—Alberta, CAN
- Central Alberta Teachers' Association Conference—Red Deer, AB, CAN
- Central Okanagan Teachers' Association Conference—Kelowna, BC, CAN (online)
- Karis Support Society—6-week Recovery Support Series—Kelowna, BC, CAN (online)
- Chute Lake Elementary Parent Advisory Council — Kelowna, BC, CAN (online)
- EventSystem Pro Virtual Camp for Kids to support Parents' Mental Health Amid COVID-19 Isolation — Ontario (online presentation)
- FEARLESS Women's Summit — Calgary & Edmonton, AB, CAN; Seattle, WA, USA
- Balance Well-Being Spring Wellness Show — Kelowna, BC, CAN
Some other random things you might like to know:
- You can pretty much find me any day out in nature: hiking trails, mountain biking, paddling or teaching people how to stand-up paddle board (certified SUP instructor, here!) Or just hanging out with my 2 Entlebucher Mountain Dogs, Jake & Jocko.
- I absolutely love red wine 🍷 — how could I not, I live in the Okanagan Valley! Scorched Earth is my favourite local winery! And potato chips are my other kryptonite.
- I absolutely hate anything creepy crawly, and I’m not a huge fan of winter, which is funny since winter actually reduces the number of creepy crawlies!!!
- Clients I work benefit from different healing modalities: somatic stress release, breathwork, meditation, mindfulness, EFT/Tapping, and more!
- I met my husband, Murray, in Afghanistan, where I was working to support Canadian & International Peacekeepers in Kabul
- I’m a creative at heart and wanted to be a fashion designer when I was growing up. At some point I settled for photography and was a family, wedding & boudoir photographer for 10+ years before training as a facilitator & coach! I guess I’ve always loved helping humans see their inner beauty and potential and then showing them how to unleash that in their own lives.
Free E-Book
THE RESILIENCE ROADMAP
Download this free guide FULL of all kinds of tools to help you get back to the healthy, happy you.
You’ll learn different ways to find peace and healing so you can better support your loved one and bring hope and joy back into your life.
I’ve been there. It works!