Carey Alvord, LMFT

Carey Alvord is a licensed LMFT - a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - practicing in California with 23 years of clinical experience. She specializes in attachment work, developmental trauma, and parent-child relationships, and centers her practice on helping families and individuals build more secure and connected relationships.

She focuses her work with biological, foster, adoptive, and relative parents who are open to attachment-based parenting approaches, supporting children of all ages. She also works with teens and adults seeking to understand how childhood loss and trauma have shaped their attachment patterns and current relationships.

Carey aims to create emotional safety through an open yet structured therapeutic environment where thoughts and feelings can be explored without judgment. Her approach draws on a range of interventions tailored to each client, including aspects of EMDR when appropriate, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, the Neurosequential Model, mindfulness techniques, Theraplay, REST - an approach she developed - and experiential work.

Recognizing that reaching out for more fulfilling and happier relationships takes courage, Carey provides steady, compassionate support to guide individuals and families through the process of healing and change.

Attachment-Informed and Mindful Online Therapy

Carey uses attachment-based work to help clients explore patterns in relationships that began in childhood, focusing on how those patterns affect parenting, partnerships, and emotional connections. This approach is especially useful for those navigating adoption, foster care, abandonment, or parent-child relationship challenges.

She also integrates Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills to teach practical tools for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and improved communication, which can help when anxiety, overwhelm, or intense reactions interfere with daily life. Mindfulness therapy is used to build present-moment awareness, reduce reactivity, and support self-compassion in the face of stress and trauma.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the work and is decided collaboratively. Carey and each client assess needs, goals, and preferences to determine which methods will be most helpful and adjust the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexibility and accessibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options allow clients to schedule sessions around busy lives, continue care during transitions, and choose formats that match their comfort level while working with licensed professionals and therapists.