Biography

Cari Baumgardner received her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and her Master’s degree in Counseling and Psychology. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and has been working in the counseling field since 2001 serving various client populations including LGBTQ, juvenile and adult forensic populations, military service members and their dependents, families, couples, children, and groups.

Cari has practiced in numerous settings including offices, client’s homes, court systems, jails, residential programs, schools and military bases. She has experience working with a variety of concerns including mood disturbances, trauma related matters, substance use issues, gender and sexual identity issues, personality problems, marital and relationship discord, family conflict and child/adolescent behavioral issues. She also has experience facilitating psychoeducational presentations to small and large groups.

Cari uses the evidence-based practices of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Solution Focused Therapy, Person Centered Therapy and Reality Therapy. Cari is certified in the evidence based therapies of Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) and Multisystemic Therapy (MST).

Additionally, she is certified in the intervention CLEAR (Choosing Life! Empowerment, Action Results!), a one on one intervention for youths/adults living with HIV or are at high risk of HIV infection.

“I am dedicated to the mental health field and assisting people in achieving an improved quality of life. Making the decision to begin counseling can sometimes be daunting and I applaud all who take this brave step to better themselves, life, situation, etc.”