Our Team
Cara de Boer, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Pediatric Specialist
Cara de Boer is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and Credentialed Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) School Counselor Child and Teen Specialist. Cara earned an Associate in Arts degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences with honors from Butte College, followed by a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with honors at CSU Chico, and finished with her Master of Science in Counseling at CSU Sacramento. Cara specializes in treating anxiety, depression, and trauma utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to focus on bringing awareness of how thoughts, feelings, and actions are connected and impact each other. She has received training through UC Davis to provide Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) to help youth address upsetting thoughts or beliefs about past events, and to help supportive caregivers better cope with their own distress and develop skills to better support their children. One of her goals is to help her clients find their passion and wellness to thrive.
During her time at Chico State, Cara interned at Marsh Junior High where she worked with youth on academic advising, peer mediation, and provided risk assessment. In her master’s program at Sacramento State, she interned at Howe Avenue Elementary and Grant Union High School to provide individual counseling for social and emotional needs, risk assessment, academic advising, college preparation, collaboration with school staff and families, and attending Student Success Team and Individual Educational Program meetings.
Cara went on to work in a community outpatient mental health treatment facility in Sacramento for many years to provide individual therapy to youth and their families struggling with moderate to severe mental health needs. She worked with a diverse group of clients with a wide range of mental health, behavioral, and academic needs. Her focus was to help youth and their families better deal with life stressors, changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to improve self-esteem, form healthy relationships, and improve everyday life. She would help coordinate and collaborate with families, school staff, social workers, community agencies, and in house staff and medical providers as needed.
Cara’s passion for working with youth first grew from her own struggles she experienced socially and academically as an adolescent. She fought with anxiety and depression, struggled with making friends, and lacked a sense of direction in her life. It was when she felt she hit rock bottom that she found the motivation to push and challenge herself to be the best that she could be. This is when Cara recognized that she wanted to help support and guide others; wanting to be the person she wished she had.
In her free time, Cara enjoys spending time with her husband, being outdoors camping, tending to her garden, snowboarding in the winter. Creative to the bone she enjoys baking professional cakes and cookies. Cara greatly understands the positive impact of creative and outdoor activities on mental health.
Trainings:
- Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) for Suicide Risk Assessment Certification
- Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) Certification
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Law and Ethics
- Suicide Prevention
- Family Violence
- LGTBIQ Cultural Competency
- DBT/CBT Child Therapy Technique
Education:
- Master of Science in Counseling, School Specialization
California State University at Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
May 2018 - Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
California State University at Chico, Chico, CA
Dec 2014 - Associate of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Butte Community College, Oroville, CA
May 2012