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CK Portrait of Cara Kalakewich

Cara Kalakewich

Compassionate therapist for relationship and life challenges

LMFT Pennsylvania

Experience
13 years in practice
Focus areas
Relationship, Family, Trauma and abuse
Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages
English

About Cara

Cara Kalakewich is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) practicing in Pennsylvania with 13 years of clinical experience.

Background and approach

She focuses on helping people navigate relationship and family challenges, trauma and abuse, addictions, and a wide range of emotional and behavioral concerns such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, grief, and issues related to intimacy and self-esteem. Cara emphasizes collaborative work that looks beyond symptoms to consider how family, faith, career, and personal values shape current struggles.

Her style is affirming and client-centered, creating space for clients to name their thoughts and feelings without judgment while also offering targeted skills and strategies when helpful.

She draws from cognitive behavioral techniques to address unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns and integrates tools from dialectical behavior therapy, emotionally-focused work, and the Gottman Method when relational repair or emotional regulation are priorities. Cara aims to empower clients to make sustainable changes by blending practical skills with attention to deeper relational dynamics.

Clients who appreciate a nurturing, straightforward partner in therapy will find a practitioner who values collaboration, respect for individual perspectives, and clear steps toward growth and coping.

Approaches for online change and relational growth

Online work with Cara commonly draws on cognitive behavioral techniques and emotionally-focused or relational methods to meet different needs. Cognitive behavioral work involves identifying and testing unhelpful thoughts and developing practical behavioral strategies to reduce anxiety, depressive patterns, and problematic habits. Emotionally-focused or Gottman-informed work centers on understanding interactional patterns in relationships and creating new ways to connect, repair, and communicate more effectively.

Finding the right approach usually happens together. Cara frames treatment as a collaborative process, exploring a client’s goals, life context, and preferences to decide whether skills-based CBT, emotion-focused interventions, DBT tools for regulation, or couple-centered methods are the best fit for the moment and for longer-term growth.

Online therapy offers flexible ways to engage through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, which can make it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules or connect from different locations. These formats allow therapists and clients to continue steady work on coping skills, communication patterns, and emotion management while adapting how sessions take place to suit each person’s needs.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does she commonly help with?
Cara works with a broad range of concerns including relationship and family difficulties, trauma and abuse, addictions, anxiety, depression, grief, sleep and eating concerns, parenting challenges, and issues related to identity and intimacy.
What is her therapeutic style like?
She uses an affirming, client-centered approach that combines empathy with practical skills; sessions balance validation of experience with strategies to shift unhelpful patterns when appropriate.
How long has she been practicing clinically?
She has 13 years of professional experience working with individuals and families in therapeutic settings.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
Cara is an LMFT licensed in Pennsylvania with the credential listing PA LMFT MF000867 and she provides services from that state location.
Can clients who live outside the United States work with her?
She accepts international clients and conducts sessions with English-speaking clients from other countries when arrangements allow.
In what formats are sessions offered?
Sessions are available via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to accommodate different needs and schedules.
How does billing and cost work for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin working with her?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Relationship issuesFamily conflictsTrauma and abuseIntimacy-related issues

Also works with

Stress, AnxietyAddictionsLGBTGriefEating disordersSleeping disordersParenting issuesAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderDepressionCoping with life changesCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAttachment issuesBDSM, kink, and alternative sex cultureBlended family issuesBody imageCodependencyCommitment issuesCommunication problemsControl issuesDependent personalityDissociationDivorce and separationDomestic violenceDrug and alcohol addictionEating and food-related issuesEmptinessFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameHIV / AIDSImpulsivityInfidelityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyLife purposeMidlife crisisMoney and financial issuesMood disordersMulticultural concernsNarcissismPanic disorder and panic attacksPersonality disordersPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPost-traumatic stressPrejudice and discriminationProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-harmSelf-loveSex addictionSexual assault and abuseSexual dysfunctionSexualityWomen's issuesWorkplace issuesYoung adult issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Gottman MethodMindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingNarrative TherapySolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

13+ years

Licensed

Pennsylvania

Languages

English