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  • Carla Pinto, MA, LPC Adult Therapist in Fort Worth, TX

    Inner Child Therapy | Terapia del Niño Interior

    Fort Worth Office & Telehealth Texas-Wide | English & Spanish

    Currently Accepting New Clients

    The Patterns That Hold You Back Started Long Before You Could Name Them

    Do you feel like you are stuck in survival mode? You might find yourself self-sabotaging, avoiding closeness, people-pleasing, or lashing out in anger.

    While many associate PTSD with war veterans, Complex PTSD (CPTSD) occurs when the “war zone” was your home or school. If you grew up in an environment where you were criticized, abused, neglected, or forced to walk on eggshells around unpredictable individuals, your body and mind may have remained in a state of constant vigilance. CPTSD is the result of many emotional wounds sustained over time rather than a single traumatic event.

    Because these roots often go deeper than surface-level problems, inner child therapy helps address the source of these challenges. This is where real transformation begins.

    How I Help

    Complex Trauma & CPTSD: Symptoms of CPTSD are often confused with depression, anxiety, borderline personality disorder, or ADHD. When viewed through the lens of trauma, however, these symptoms often make sense as protective survival responses developed in emotionally unsafe environments. Together, we explore how these patterns may have once served a purpose while also recognizing how they may now interfere with connection, emotional regulation, identity, and daily functioning. This work focuses on building safety, self-understanding, and a more compassionate relationship with yourself while supporting the nervous system’s capacity for healing and connection.

    Inner Child Therapy: This transformative approach helps you access and heal the younger parts of yourself that carry unresolved wounds, unmet emotional needs, and painful beliefs formed early in life. Through this work, we explore how early experiences continue to shape your sense of self, relationships, emotional responses, and coping patterns, while fostering greater self-compassion, emotional healing, and integration.

    Mindfulness, CBT & DBT: Drawing from mindfulness practices, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), we focus on strengthening emotional regulation, increasing self-awareness, and building practical coping skills. We also explore thought patterns, emotional reactions, and behavioral responses that may no longer align with the life you want to create, while supporting a greater sense of grounding, intentional, and connection to yourself.

    Areas of Focus

    • Emotional flashbacks
    • Toxic shame
    • Harsh inner critic
    • Social anxiety
    • Abandonment
    • Depression
    • People pleasing
    • People avoidance
    • Difficulty trusting others

    Education & Experience

    I earned my Master’s of Arts in Professional Counseling and my Master’s in School Counseling from Amberton University. Before becoming a therapist, I served as an elementary school counselor for over a decade and a classroom teacher before that — giving me deep roots in human development, family systems, and the role of early experience in adult wellbeing.

    A Little About Me

    Having grown up in an abusive and neglectful environment, I understand firsthand the weight of childhood trauma. As an adult, I struggled with emotional flashbacks and triggers that caused significant suffering and limited my life.

    Through my own healing process, I found a path forward and was inspired to become a therapist. My goal is to help others navigate their own emotional and psychological wounds and find the same healing that I did.

    Today, I value quality time with my partner, my grown children, and my chihuahua. I also cherish the relationship I have built with my mother, which is now defined by healthy boundaries. In my free time, I enjoy traveling, practicing yoga, trying new experiences, and listening to interesting podcasts or discussions.

    You are not broken. You are injured, and injuries can heal.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does Carla offer therapy in Spanish?

    Yes — Carla is bilingual in English and Spanish and offers inner child therapy in both languages.

    What is inner child therapy?

    Inner child therapy is a therapeutic approach that helps adults identify and heal the younger parts of themselves that still carry unresolved pain, limiting beliefs, or unmet needs from childhood.

    Does Carla accept insurance?

    Please visit our Rates & Insurance page or call 469-214-5111 for the most current information.

    Ready to begin your transformation? Schedule a free consultation at mindsinactioncounseling.com/free-consultation/ or call 469-214-5111.