Carissa's Journey
Growing up, Carissa knew she had something to share with the world, but she got the message that the only way to do that was to present herself in a nice, pretty, little package and not take up too much space. So, for many years, she stayed small and quiet, afraid to use her voice.
At age 11 she was bitten by the acting bug, and ran off to pursue a life in the theatre. Along the way she noticed that her fear, perfectionism, and anxiety really got in the way of realizing her acting dreams. Although she worked steadily as an actress, she found it difficult to believe in herself enough to have any true success. She tried her hand at many different performance roles (including stunt fighting, puppeteering, and even clowning) and eventually worked her way into a steady but strenuous physical acting gig where she sustained an injury that caused her severe, chronic pain.
This injury disrupted her professional acting journey and forced her to reevaluate her life. She had always been drawn to the healing professions, and heeded the call to go back to school to learn counseling psychology. During the process of graduate school and her own therapy, Carissa's teachers and mentors taught her to unpack the critical views she held about herself. She began to gain confidence in her voice and her knowledge, and she realized the value in treating herself with kindness and compassion. After graduation and licensure, she began to translate what she learned about her own self love into helping others to become more compassionate with themselves, to heal from their wounds, and to grow into the people they want to be.
After working as a therapist for several years in treatment centers, and obtaining advanced training in EMDR and somatic therapy, and advanced training in healing trauma and compassion fatigue, Carissa opened a private practice in Huntington Beach. Now, in her practice, she works with those who have experienced trauma, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout, and helps them feel joyfully awake and alive again.
Carissa often shares the story of the golden Buddha with her clients. In the story there was a huge statue of a wooden Buddha that needed a good cleaning. Everyone believed it was a worthless, grungy, wooden statue. But as the dirt was scrubbed away, the wood began to crack off in places, and the cleaners were shocked to realized that hidden underneath the dull and dirty wood was an inner Buddha made of solid gold.
You are like that Buddha. Inside, you are solid gold: radiant and powerful. But sometimes you might feel covered in gunk and grime from the difficulties in life or the pain and trauma that you have experienced or witnessed. As we work together, the layers of gunk will slough off and allow you to reconnect to your innate healing, contentment, and wisdom and to allow your inner brightness to shine into the world.
Contact Carissa today if you are ready to heal your pain, connect to your inner wisdom, and give yourself permission to shine.
This injury disrupted her professional acting journey and forced her to reevaluate her life. She had always been drawn to the healing professions, and heeded the call to go back to school to learn counseling psychology. During the process of graduate school and her own therapy, Carissa's teachers and mentors taught her to unpack the critical views she held about herself. She began to gain confidence in her voice and her knowledge, and she realized the value in treating herself with kindness and compassion. After graduation and licensure, she began to translate what she learned about her own self love into helping others to become more compassionate with themselves, to heal from their wounds, and to grow into the people they want to be.
After working as a therapist for several years in treatment centers, and obtaining advanced training in EMDR and somatic therapy, and advanced training in healing trauma and compassion fatigue, Carissa opened a private practice in Huntington Beach. Now, in her practice, she works with those who have experienced trauma, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout, and helps them feel joyfully awake and alive again.
Carissa often shares the story of the golden Buddha with her clients. In the story there was a huge statue of a wooden Buddha that needed a good cleaning. Everyone believed it was a worthless, grungy, wooden statue. But as the dirt was scrubbed away, the wood began to crack off in places, and the cleaners were shocked to realized that hidden underneath the dull and dirty wood was an inner Buddha made of solid gold.
You are like that Buddha. Inside, you are solid gold: radiant and powerful. But sometimes you might feel covered in gunk and grime from the difficulties in life or the pain and trauma that you have experienced or witnessed. As we work together, the layers of gunk will slough off and allow you to reconnect to your innate healing, contentment, and wisdom and to allow your inner brightness to shine into the world.
Contact Carissa today if you are ready to heal your pain, connect to your inner wisdom, and give yourself permission to shine.
