Allison Carter, Psy.D.
Licensed Psychologist PSY 19493
Biography
Dr. Allison Carter is a licensed psychologist working in private practice. She earned her Doctorate of Psychology from California School of Professional Psychology: Los Angeles (CSPP-LA). Her degree emphasis was in health psychology, and her training involved individual, family and child psychotherapy. Her studies focused on issues relating to adolescents, parenting, family dynamics, the mind/body connection and concerns specific to emergency service personnel. She has pursued advanced training in stress management, crisis intervention and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and has been a Certified Trauma Specialist through the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists. Dr. Carter has presented personal research relating to emergency service personnel at the respected International Critical Incident Stress Foundation World Congress. She is currently an on-call psychologist for the Los Angeles Fire Department where she has volunteered her services in various capacities for the past nine years. Dr. Carter’s clinical training and experience took place in several settings, including; a community health center, a forensic inpatient institution, in the pediatric unit of a large county hospital, several emergency service organizations and in private practice settings. She has experience conducting full psychological assessments for both children and adults including testing for attention deficit disorders, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, career aptitude, achievement ability and intelligence. Dr. Carter authors a quarterly newsletter that addresses child and family issues and has developed therapeutic games for children.
Although Dr. Carter runs a general psychotherapy practice, she focuses on child, adult and crisis intervention psychology. Dr. Carter provides individual, group and family therapy, as well as parent training and requested individualized workshops for specific organizations. She works with a variety of presenting issues including: Adjustment Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, and other emotional-behavioral disorders. She also provides services in the areas of stress management, motivation, sports issues, Acute Stress Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and related subgroups, such as self-medication, family awareness and emergency medical service personnel issues. Dr. Carter believes strongly in the connection between the mind and the body and therefore offers services such as outdoor wilderness therapy, ropes courses and facilitation of issues related to body image, weight loss and enhancing one’s life through physical activity.
Dr. Carter’s approach to therapy involves cognitive-behavioral and family systems interventions. In working with children, she often incorporates cognitive–behavioral techniques through the use of art projects, role-plays, and interpersonal therapy. Dr. Carter believes incorporating systemic and environmental changes in collaboration with the parents, teachers and others who come into contact with the family provides for a more positive therapeutic experience; hence she often collaborates with these individuals. In her work with adolescents, she takes a straightforward approach, builds rapport quickly, and affords teens an environment where their opinions are heard and respected. She shares and explores the belief that “high school is not the best time of your life,” allowing teens to feel validated and to explore their feelings without judgment. In working with adults and emergency medical personnel, Dr. Carter takes an action-orientated approach in an effort to restore the prior level of functioning, with the benefit of increased self awareness, in a timely manner. She also addresses enhancement of stress management and coping skills with adolescents and adults.
Dr. Carter has an easy going personality that affords her the ability to diminish myths related to the field of psychology, therefore allowing her clients to address their lives challenges without fear of judgment or stereotype. She firmly believes that children and adults possess unending potential for personal growth and life fulfillment that is limited only by the challenges not faced. Dr. Carter empathetically and passionately facilitates facing the life challenges of today to aid in creating a healthier, enhanced life of tomorrow. Over her years of clinical practice, her motto has become, “Your body and mind are capable of more than you believe them to be."