Carley James Bruner, LMHC

Carley James Bruner is a licensed mental health counselor who helps people facing stress, anxiety, addictions, relationship strain, trauma, and depression. She speaks plainly and aims to make the first steps toward change feel manageable. Carley emphasizes the client’s own strengths and perspective when working through difficult moments.

She draws on 15 years of professional experience to guide practical, step-by-step work. That may include looking at unhelpful thought patterns, learning skills to manage strong emotions, and addressing past distress that still affects daily life. Carley uses tools that help people name what’s happening and try small changes between sessions.

Her background includes work with concerns such as abandonment, attachment challenges, blended family stress, caregiver strain, and issues around body image, shame, and guilt. She also supports people dealing with impulsivity, codependency, communication problems, and the aftermath of divorce or separation.

Carley integrates several clinical approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Emotionally-Focused Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, tailoring them to each person’s needs. She focuses on clear, practical steps rather than jargon. Her style is collaborative and goal-oriented, helping people test what works for them.

Based in Washington, Carley works with English-speaking clients and is comfortable supporting international clients when arrangements allow. To start, she asks people to describe their main concerns and goals so she can help set the next steps.

How therapy approaches translate to online work

Carley uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help people notice and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, which can reduce stress and improve daily routines. She also uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills to teach emotion-regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness for intense feelings and strong reactions.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Carley will talk with each person about goals and preferences, then suggest which methods to try first. That decision is collaborative and can change as progress is made.

Confirm the available session formats before booking since the biography does not list specific options. Many clients find online sessions useful for fitting therapy into busy days, shortening travel time, or allowing a quicker check-in between commitments. Online work can make it easier to practice skills in real-life settings and to bring homework into the next conversation. Licensed professionals can adapt the chosen approaches - like CBT exercises or DBT skills training - to an online setting so therapy focuses on usable tools and steady, practical progress.