Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) with 20 years of professional experience working with behavioral health, trauma, and substance use disorders. She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from San Diego State University. She went on to complete her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from National University. Cara collected her practicum hours through Alvarado Parkway Institute, an acute psychiatric inpatient facility, providing crisis intervention and group therapy. She continued her journey working on substance abuse at an intensive outpatient treatment facility through VistaHill ParentCare Central. Before branching off on her own at Silva Family Therapy, Cara was the Program Director at a small non-profit helping children of trauma and their families heal from abuse. Cara supervised associates and practicum students gaining their hours for licensure. Cara was voted in as Vice President on the Board of Directors where she helped create programs, research grants, and prepare budgets. After working with addiction, DV, trauma, abuse, and PTSD, Cara believes that we get stuck in cycles, i.e. cycles of abuse, cycle of addiction, cycle of life, etc. Her passion is to help others find their paths through empowerment. Cara is trained in EMDR and uses a variety of evidence-based approaches to help clients work through depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mood disorders.