Tracy Carver, PhD
Licensed Psychologist, Owner Vibrant Counseling PLLC
Austin TX
One of my favorite parts of being a therapist is getting to know new clients — I enjoy discovering what makes you unique and figuring out how I can best serve you in my role as a therapist. While I bring years of experience to our sessions, I'm also deeply invested in understanding your individual experiences and I'm always curious to learn more about you.
Clients have told me they appreciate my sense of humor and my calm, grounded presence. They've said therapy with me has helped them see their lives from a different perspective and that their problems seem simpler and more manageable now. They've appreciated that I'm a reliable source of support when times are tough and when dependable friends may be hard to come by.
Expect me to challenge you when you need to be challenged. I'll provide you with honest feedback and will share my opinion when I think it's necessary. And even when I'm gently pointing out that feeling you're avoiding feeling or that not-so-obvious thing you always do in relationships, you'll know it's coming from an empathic, loving place.
It was 2017 and one of my favorite yoga teachers announced she was leading a yoga retreat into the Peruvian Amazon. I knew I needed to go and signed up immediately. As I began researching the Amazonian region of Peru, I learned it was the home of ayahuasca. Something whispered to me to go for it and I said “yes.” I found an ayahuasca healing center that felt intuitively right and signed up for a ten day retreat. A few months later, I arrived in the jungle with curiosity and reverence. Ayahuasca cracked open my heart and made me question a version of reality I had been clinging to for years. The medicine shook my soul free and helped me release an unhealthy attachment to scientific materialism. I was psychologically tested, pushed into unfamiliar realms, and forced to directly face my fears. One could say the teaching style was a bit harsh, but the lessons were unequivocal, undeniable, and life-altering. Ayahuasca helped me expand my consciousness by revealing a vast spiritual landscape I had been blocking for years. When I got home, my therapy practice blossomed. The medicine cleansed me, revealed truths, and helped me see my therapy clients with fresh eyes. I became a better therapist and a more loving human.
My soul stirring, heart opening experiences in the jungle propelled me to pursue training in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and iRest® yoga nidra meditation. I see an incredible amount of overlap between psychedelics and meditation and view them both as powerful catalysts on the road to greater resilience, emotional freedom, and liberation.