Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Garvin.
Carla, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am Georgia born and raised, a Grady baby. I grew up in Buckhead and faced a lot of racial discrimination in my early childhood. Traumatic experiences were constant in my childhood and unable to process those events, they were suppressed for years. However, when I took my first psychology class in high school, I knew I have found something that truly peaked my interest. I had suffered a number of childhood traumas and I had found this thing called psychology that would help me understand and make sense of my internal turmoil. The hurt that I felt, I never wanted any young child to experience that but I knew I could not stop anyone’s experience but I could position myself to be able to help them.
I graduated from Cedar Grove High school and furthered my education at University of Georgia obtaining a Bachelor’s in Psychology; at Webster University obtaining a master’s in counseling and Capella University obtaining a PhD in Psychology. My current credentials include LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), NCC (National Certified Counselor), CACII (Certified Addictions Counselor II), CCS (Certified Clinical Supervisor), CPCS (Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor). She has been trained in several treatment modalities, such as DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy), TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, MI (Motivational Interviewing and is a trained STAR Behavioral Health Provider for the military.
Once I had gained all the credentials necessary to start working a counselor, I gained as much experience and knowledge as I could over the years working for others. In 2006, I opened my first behavior health agency Creative Interventions, Inc in Kennesaw, Georgia. I choose to close my business and care for him until his untimely death in August 2017. Taking time to deal with that loss and the loss of my business, I took time off and re-entered the workforce in February 2018 working for another agency. In October 2019, I founded and am a co-owner of Creative Counseling and Consulting, LLLP. I am a front-line worker in mental health striving daily to help individuals overcome their problematic situations and becoming the successful, confident and self-fulfilled individuals that they were created to be. Helping them by dreaming their dreams until they can dream them from themselves.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road, I have had many challenges over the road. One of my earliest experiences were when I was hired as Mental Health Counselor and eventually promoted and no one on the staff was happy about my promotion and they fought me for months, but with the help of God I made it through. There were financial challenges in paying for trainings and licensure fees in the beginning. Learning about other costs such as professional liability insurance. There weren’t many people in supervision and management that looked like me so it was challenging to get the information and support that you needed along the journey to licensure.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Certified Addictions Counselor II, Certified Clinical Supervisor, and Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor. I provide individual, family and group counseling to individuals struggling with mental health and substance use problems. I work with individual ranging in age from 4 to 84. They come will a plethora of concerns from depression, anxiety, addictions, trauma to some of the persistent and severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar.
I would say that I specialize in trauma whether it be childhood sexual trauma, trauma for natural disasters, community traumas and military trauma and Christian counseling.
I am known for my ethical and professional way of providing services to individuals and treating them with dignity and respect at all times. I am also known for “knowing my craft.”
Personally, I am most proud of earning my PhD and all other credentials that make it possible for me to be able to practice as a licensed professional counselor. Professionally, I am most proud of being in America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals – Professional of the Year in Psychology 2014.
What set me apart is my relationship with God and my belief that everyone person is worthy of love and happiness. And the treatment that I provide helps them reach that point of happiness.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory was going to work with my grandmother and being able to ride the horses and play in the swimming pool.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativeccllc/
