Therapists in Provo, UT

Hi! I am a bisexual, cisgender woman and love to CELEBRATE my queer community! My goal as a therapist is to help clients find healing from within to become empowered to make changes in their external world. My approach includes an element of play and/or art, to help clients have new emotional experiences through the therapeutic approaches of Internal Family Systems and Emotionally Focused Therapy.

I'm Makayla, a LAMFT with expertise in helping couples build stronger relationships and creating inclusive spaces for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Using a combination of Gottman Couples Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), I help couples cultivate trust, improve communication, and strengthen their emotional bond. Whether you're navigating conflicts, seeking premarital counseling, or wanting to reignite the spark, I provide a supportive and collaborative environment for enhancing your connection.

I'm a licensed marriage and family therapist and I trust in your inherent goodness, even if sometimes you don't feel it. Humans flourish when given compassion and grace. My purpose is to help you find your internal wellspring of self-compassion. Healing flows naturally from there. I provide individual, couple, and family therapy and have experience working with depression, suicidality, problematic/out-of-control sexual behavior, trauma, anxiety, OCD, faith transitions, and coping skills.

Each person’s story has successes and struggles, and I believe every individual has what it takes to find healing and growth. As an Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed therapist, my efforts focus on accessing that healing and growth by exploring underlying beliefs, wounds, and fears that get in the way of you feeling connected with yourself and the important people in your life.

I am excited to join your therapy journey to help you live a more fulfilling and happy life. I love everything about being a therapist and I feel that is a privilege to have you trust me with your most important life challenges. I am specially trained in family systems theory to improve family relationships.

I am passionate about connecting with my clients and creating a space for healing and understanding. Working with couples and Individuals has been a beautiful and incredible. I desire to assist you through anxiety, depression, trauma, sexual blocks and explore sexual narratives that have been created over your lifetime. We often get caught up in negative relationship cycles and negative sexual cycles, making you feel stuck and somewhat crazy. It is my honor and privilege to assist in relieving the pain you are experiencing and create HOPE/CHANGE in your life.

I believe a huge factor for a healthy and meaningful life is connection: with others, with yourself, and with the values that matter most to you. I strive to create a supportive, compassionate atmosphere where you can foster and develop these connections. I particularly enjoy working with women’s issues, faith transitions, LGBTQIA+ wellness, body image issues, and depression and anxiety. I believe that "healing isn't about getting rid of the 'bad parts,' it's about learning to love and accept all of our parts" (Richard Schwartz).

I have worked in mental health since 2006. I have worked in several different settings and with several different populations. I enjoy working with kids, teens, adults, families, and elderly. I enjoy helping clients work through their struggles, through teaching coping skills, mindfulness, reducing symptoms, and improving overall functioning. I work hard at helping normalize issues and helping others to know that they do not have to face their battles alone.

I take a holistic approach to addressing therapy that focuses on helping you to understand and embrace all parts of you and live and authentic life. My ultimate goal is for you to learn to trust yourself and your body and to feel like you are worthy of being loved and treated with respect. Treatment with me tends to be relatively short-term as we purposefully work to understand what makes you feel the need to repress your emotions, how this may connect to your depression or relationship problems, and specifically creating experiences that help you are worthy to live, to love, and be yourself.

My PhD training as a counseling psychologist affords me flexibility to support multiple life concerns, and at the root of my work is the belief that relationships are capable of healing. I build strong alliances with those whom I serve in order to best meet client directed goals and foster sustained change. I adhere to evidence-based practices in psychology, and research evidence strongly supports the importance of building a strong therapeutic alliance. Everyone has a unique lens through which they see the world and I strive to see the world as my clients do to provide the best care.

By the end of each appointment with me, I want you to feel like you’ve been heard and that you’ve gained something valuable, whether that’s new coping skills or an improved sense of peace or strength. Your trauma is stored in your nervous system, so I utilize therapies like EMDR to work to relieve you of your burden. My training is in grief and trauma-related symptoms like anxiety, depression, PTSD, self-harm, and suicidality. I provide trauma-focused therapy to support you as we work together to reach your goals.

Experiencing deep hurt, frustration, or loneliness in your marriage can feel like your whole world is collapsing. As a therapist, I am here to meet you and your partner where you are without judgment. I empower you to bravely explore uncomfortable emotions within your relationship, understand your own internal worlds, and show up in authentic and connecting ways. This can be hard–as it requires vulnerability, honesty, and practice–but I believe in you! Some of the greatest hope and healing I have witnessed transpire between partners in the therapy room.

Desiring for deeper, more fulfilling relationships but feeling hindered by obstacles like anxiety and fear are my ideal clients. They seek to form healthy, loving bonds with themselves, others, and their faith. Their goals are to understand their reactions, communicate openly, and embrace their purpose confidently. They desire transformative experiences to overcome challenges and distractions, fostering genuine connections and enriched lives.

My approach is an affirmative space. I help many navigate the difficult journey of their faith crises and revolutions. This is a very hard time to navigate and the universe is calling us to heal. I don't judge ANY of my clients and I meet them where they are at to work on their goals. I have special trainings and certifications with Brainspotting a brain based trauma approach; working with children through play therapy, couples therapy & LGBTQ+ relationships and issues. I also have extensive experience wading through the struggles of stepfamily and blended family issues. You deserve a supportive space to manage life.

We all experience difficult times in life, and we all need connection through relationships. I believe therapy is one avenue to process and explore painful situations while working on improving relationships with partners, parents, children, etc. Our experiences impact how we communicate and perceive others’ messages.

My main goal is to help you meaningfully engage with life on your terms with a sense of confidence knowing that you have the tools necessary to deal with life’s challenges. I meet with clients dealing with a variety of issues, but my specialties are relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, ADHD, spirituality, and trauma. My clients’ goals tend to include improving their: emotional regulation, executive functioning, communication, conflict resolution, relationship with themselves, relationship with others, or relationship with a higher power. I can meet with you either individually, as a couple, or as a family.

Most people would rather hide from change than embrace it. When we do, unseen opportunities aren’t realized. We encourage our clients to focus on positive change- more on strengths than on weaknesses, the solution instead of the problem.

I can help you begin to accept how wonderful of a person you are and who you can become. I believe that you are a wonderful person and that we all are. However, we tend to reject ourselves and that can create feelings of depression and anxiety. We can achieve self-acceptance by first discovering where this rejection came from and making small adjustments to the way that we view our worlds. I have a very special place in my heart for those who struggle with pornography addiction. I can work with you to remove shame and guilt and free yourself from the cycle of addiction.

I am accepting new clients and offer Online Counseling via Telehealth. I've provided over 10,000 hours of therapy and like Confucius said, "Choose a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life." I managed LDS Family Services for 13 years and loved directing the 12-step Addiction Recovery Program in Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania. I've been recruited by multiple residential treatment centers, a hospital, a skilled nursing facility, and by an IOP program assessing and treating substance abuse and domestic violence.