- Years in practice
- 23
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Family conflicts
- Focus
- Trauma and abuse
About Carey
Carey Alvord is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps parents and individuals understand attachment and healing after loss or trauma. She brings 23 years of clinical experience and focuses on clear, practical support for people feeling stressed, anxious, or worn down by caregiving demands. Carey works with biological, foster, adoptive, and relative parents who want attachment-based parenting support.
She also sees teens and adults who want to make sense of how childhood loss or developmental trauma shapes current relationships and reactions.
Background and approach
In sessions she aims to create an open and predictable space where clients can speak honestly without judgment. Carey balances warmth with structure so conversations stay focused and useful. That approach helps parents try new ways of relating to children and helps individuals notice patterns that keep them stuck.
She draws on approaches that emphasize relationships, emotion regulation, and present moment awareness. Mindfulness skills are used to help calm stress and increase attention to emotions. Narrative work helps people tell and reframe difficult life stories so they feel less overwhelming.
Carey has worked in California settings across child welfare, adoption, and trauma contexts. Her practice is practical and goal oriented, tuned to the realities of busy family life. She invites people to take small steps toward feeling more connected and capable in their relationships.
What Carey works with
Everything Carey lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Carey helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
- Compassion fatigue
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Attachment issues
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Dissociation
- Fertility issues
- Forgiveness
- Immigration issues
- Life purpose
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Multicultural concerns
- Post-traumatic stress
- Women's issues
- Young adult issues
Approaches Carey lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Systemic Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Approach and online options for attachment and coping
Carey uses Attachment-Based Therapy to look at how early relationships shape current behavior and closeness. This work helps parents change interactions with children and helps adults understand patterns linked to childhood loss. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach practical tools for managing strong emotions and reducing reactivity, useful for anxiety, stress, and trauma-related symptoms.Finding the right approach is a shared process. Carey will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Together they try tools and make adjustments so therapy fits the client's life and needs.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule. Video is useful for longer, deeper work and interactive exercises while phone sessions can work well when bandwidth is limited or a camera is not preferred. Shorter check-ins or skills practice can be done by live chat or messaging between sessions, offering flexibility for caregivers juggling school, appointments, or work.
Questions people ask about Carey
What kinds of concerns does Carey help with?
She helps with stress, anxiety, parenting challenges, trauma and abuse, compassion fatigue, and family concerns. Additional focuses include adoption and foster care, attachment issues, and chronic illness impacts.
How would you describe her therapy style?
Her approach is warm and structured, combining attachment-focused work with mindfulness and narrative techniques. Sessions aim to be practical and focused on small, achievable changes.
What is her background and experience?
Carey has 23 years of professional experience working in contexts that include adoption, child welfare, and trauma-related care. She has long experience supporting parents and adults processing childhood loss.
What credentials and location are listed?
Carey is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT, practicing in California.
Which languages and international options are offered?
Sessions are offered in English. She is not accepting international clients at this time.
In what formats are sessions available?
Carey offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How are costs handled for sessions?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What are the steps to begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and then schedule sessions based on the therapist's availability.
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