Kara DeWinter

(She/Her)

Intern

Approach

  • Trauma-Informed

  • Person-Centred

  • Collaborative

  • Relational

  • Anti-Oppressive

  • Gender-Affirming

  • Neurodiversity-Affirming

  • Sex-Positive

Areas of Focus

  • CPTSD

  • 2SLGBTQI+

  • Gender Affirmation

  • Kink & Polyamory

  • Youth & Adolescents

  • Chronic Illness & Disability

  • AI Relationships

Modalities

  • Narrative Therapy

  • Emotion-Focused Therapy

  • Internal Family Systems

  • Solution-Based Focus Therapy

  • Somatic Therapy

 

 

Something brought you here, and whatever it is, you have probably been carrying it for a while. That decision takes more than people give it credit for. The question I am always interested in is not what is wrong with you. It is what happened to you, and what you had to do in order to survive or navigate those situations.

Gender transition is a unique experience for everyone, and every journey is its own, and its own challenges and supports. Understanding the transition is something I travelled through myself; there are things many of us experience in the process to being our authentic selves: the waiting, the paperwork, the people who need you to explain yourself before they will help you. You will not have to start from the beginning here; we can explore your challenges together.

Almost everything that gets called dysfunction started out as something that helped. The way you learned to brace. To go quiet. To keep the peace. To carry everyone else so that nobody had to carry you. Those were not flaws. They were responses to hard situations, and they very likely kept you safe. So we do not start by taking them away. We start by getting to know them. What were they protecting? What have they cost you? And what would it look like to be safe in a way that asks less of you?

You might be navigating complex trauma, gender and identity, chronic illness and pain, or relationships that do not fit the standard shape. Kink and polyamory are welcome here as they are part of your identity and life, and you will not spend your first three sessions teaching me the basics. All ages are welcome to come and open up in a safe space to navigate your challenges and share your successes.

Relationships are where most of us do our hardest living. I work with people across the whole range of them: monogamous and polyamorous, partnered and single, chosen family and the family you were handed, friendships that hold more weight than anyone acknowledges. You will not have to explain your structure to me before we can get to what actually hurts. This includes relationships with AI. People are building real attachments to these systems and using them in more ways every day. We will approach this all with an open mind and open heart.

In this shared space, you decide what we open and when, and you can stop or change direction at any point without having to explain why. I bring honesty, warmth, and a fair amount of humour. You bring yourself.