Kara Holthaus, MA, LCPC
Hi, I’m Kara.
This work is personal for me. I became a therapist after experiencing my own transformation as a client in therapy. I know how much courage it takes to step into healing, and I hold that process with deep care.
I bring to this work both clinical training and lived experience. I identify as a white, cisgender woman, and a former Christian who is in recovery from high-functioning codependency and growing up with emotionally immature parents. These parts of me shape how I understand shame, people-pleasing, self-worth, and the tension between looking successful on the outside while feeling disconnected on the inside.
Before becoming a counselor, I worked in nonprofit operations and corporate account management. I grew up in the rural Midwest and now call the DMV home. Outside of work, I love exploring coffee shops, playing card games, and reading nonfiction.
I believe therapy works best when it honors the whole person, including the identities, stories, and systems that shaped us.
I serve clients throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. via telehealth, including professionals in Frederick, Bethesda, Potomac, Columbia, Ellicott City, Northern Virginia, and across the D.C. metro area. Coaching and consulting services are available more broadly, including for clients in the Philadelphia suburbs and across the country.
How betrayal trauma therapy works at Heart Centered Therapy
Action Oriented. Compassion Focused. Heart Centered.
Our work focuses on identifying patterns that no longer serve you and healing the roots beneath them.
Our work will be collaborative and structured. We work within clearly defined goals and regularly review progress to ensure the work remains intentional and supportive. This process also works as a natural complement to those currently in family or couples counseling with another provider.
Heart Centered Therapy is a safe and affirming space for LGBTQ+ clients and people from diverse racial, cultural, and spiritual backgrounds.
Credentials
I am EMDR-trained by EMDRIA and have completed Conflict Influencer® training based on High Conflict Institute research for navigating high-conflict personalities and coparenting dynamics.
I draw from Kelly McDaniel's work on mother-daughter relationships and relational loss. I also integrate attachment theory informed by Pia Mellody's Post Induction Model for family-of-origin and inner child work, which helps clients understand how childhood experiences shape adult relational patterns and vulnerability to betrayal.
My practice is grounded in trauma-informed care influenced by Diana Fosha's AEDP model; and Interpersonal Neurobiology, rooted in the work of Dan Siegel, which integrates somatic awareness and Polyvagal Theory into how I understand the nervous system, the body, and the relational roots of healing.
Specializations
betrayal trauma— infidelity, partner discovery, and relational deception
relational and attachment trauma— in marriages, partnerships, and families
high-conflict relationship dynamics— toxic workplaces, coparenting
family-of-origin wounds— hyper-responsibility, mother-daughter wounds
spiritual or religious trauma
work or system trauma
Resources
View my resources tab to get a better idea of my philosophy and influences.