Ms. Cayla Tepper, LCSW

Therapy can be many things and is different for each person. Whether you are new to therapy or returning, my hope is to meet you where you’re at, explore what may feel stuck, painful, or challenging, and support you in living a life aligned with what is most important to you. The world can feel very uncertain, discordant, unjust, and sometimes unbearable; in my approach I aim to look with you both internally and externally to find moments of reflection, validation, accountability, clarity, and care.

My clinical experience includes time counseling in a K-12 school, a university counseling center, and an inpatient substance use treatment program, as well as post-grad training in myriad evidence-based practices. In these environments I have provided individual and group therapy to clients of many different ages, backgrounds, and experiences. Most commonly, I have worked with clients experiencing family and relationship issues, loss, trauma, low self-esteem, questions of identity, and general life transitions. I use a warm, relational approach to my work with clients. Most importantly I strive to uphold anti-racist, liberatory, and LGBTQIA+ affirming scaffolding in my practice and I am always learning more in this respect. Therapy should feel safe, empowering, collaborative, and be a place where communication is transparent. While my style is eclectic in approaching each client with what seems most relevant to them as an individual, I primarily find psychodynamic, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindful Self-Compassion, and Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) theories and practices helpful in informing what I can offer.

Before coming to social work as a career, I spent most of my time as a seasonal organic farmer, working in food service and retail, apprenticing abroad, and organizing on behalf of various social justice causes. I believe these past professions bring a richness, humor, and humility to my work as a clinician. Outside of my work as a therapist I spend my time growing plants indoors and outdoors, bothering my cats while they’re trying to nap, cooking, and looking for the most relatable therapy memes.