Meet carli kilbourne, ms, lpc
Become more like yourself.
I help adults heal from people-pleasing, anxiety, trauma, and relationship wounds. My approach blends evidence-based treatment with curiosity and compassion to support lasting change.
TELL ME IF YOU’VE FELT LIKE THIS:
“I’m either too much or not enough”
What if you didn’t have to measure yourself that way anymore?
Maybe you’ve spent years trying to find the “right” version of yourself. Not too needy, too emotional, too loud, too difficult — but also good enough, successful enough, helpful enough, lovable enough. It can feel like there’s a “just right” amount of you that will finally be acceptable.
So, you read the room, question yourself, shrink yourself. And after doing that for long enough, it can be hard to know what being you even feels like.
You learned to adapt to the people and environments around you because, at one point, you needed to. But you don’t have to spend the rest of your life trying to find the “right” amount of yourself.
You learned how to become who you needed to be. Now you get to discover who you actually are & live authentic as f*ck.
How I work:
I believe the things you struggle with today often started as ways to protect yourself or get through something hard.
My approach is relational, down-to-earth, and focused on understanding what’s underneath the patterns keeping you stuck. We’ll get curious about how your past shaped the ways you learned to cope, relate to others, and move through the world — while paying attention to what your mind and body are telling you in the present.
I’m a human being first, which means I have my own painful experiences and know firsthand how vulnerable therapy can be (shoutout to my own therapist). I believe deeply in the therapeutic relationship and the healing that can happen when you get to experience safety, trust, and authenticity in relationship with another person. It matters to me that you feel comfortable enough to show up as your actual self here — not the version of you who thinks they’re doing therapy “right.”
I bring attachment work, mindfulness, EMDR, parts and inner-child work into the room, but more than anything, I bring my humanity. I’m not here to “fix” you or tell you the right way to live. I’m here to help you understand yourself more deeply, heal what feels painful, and trust yourself enough to live a life that actually feels like yours.
Guiding Principles of Authentic AF Therapy:
01HUMILITY
I consider myself a “wounded healer” — someone who brings both training and lived experience to this work. I deeply value the relationship we create in therapy and believe the best work happens when we meet each other as humans. Humility means staying curious, honoring that I can never fully know your experience, and creating a relationship where your voice matters.
02COMPASSION
We make a lot more sense when we understand the whole story. The patterns you struggle with today often developed for good reason, and I believe they deserve curiosity and compassion — not more shame. I value creating space for every part of you to be understood, especially the ones you’ve learned to judge the most.
03AUTHENTICITY
Healing is about becoming more of yourself, not less. Self-acceptance drives my passion for this work and witnessing the freedom that comes when people stop trying to be who they should be and embrace their authenticity is what I live for.
04EMPOWERMENT
Every person deserves to feel ownership over their own life. This means having the freedom to trust what you feel, make your own choices, and decide what a meaningful life looks like for you. Therapy should strengthen your relationship with your Self.
Training & Education
Master of Science in Professional Counseling
Licensed Professional Counselor through Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners
EMDR Certified Therapist through EMDRIA
College Professor in Behavioral Health Studies Department
Additional trainings: Parts work (IFS-informed), Somatic Integration Processing, Somatic + EMDR.
specializing in:
People-Pleasing
Complex Trauma
Difficult adult child-parent relationships
Ready to choose yourself and take the next step?
Book a free intro call and let’s do a vibe check!