Cara Bowen is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Colorado and Texas. She earned her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of North Texas, where she specialized in play therapy, filial therapy, and psychoeducational assessment. Before becoming a counselor, Cara spent nearly two decades working in public education, giving her a deep understanding of children's developmental, emotional, and educational needs.  

Cara provides counseling for adults, children, adolescents, and families experiencing concerns such as anxiety, depression, grief, life transitions, relationship difficulties, self-esteem concerns, parenting challenges, behavioral concerns, and emotional regulation. She believes that counseling provides a unique opportunity for self-exploration, allowing individuals to better understand themselves, their relationships, and the experiences that have shaped them. 

Cara also provides psychoeducational assessments for children and adolescents. She conducts developmental evaluations for young children to support kindergarten readiness and identify developmental concerns, as well as comprehensive psychoeducational assessments for school-age children and adolescents to evaluate intellectual functioning (IQ), giftedness, learning differences, ADHD, visual-motor integration, and social-emotional concerns that may be impacting success at home or in school. Cara approaches assessment from a research-informed, strengths-based perspective, using results to help clients and families better understand a child's unique strengths and needs while developing practical recommendations to support educational planning, treatment, and accommodations. Drawing on her background in education, she values collaborating with families, teachers, and other professionals to ensure that assessment results lead to meaningful support across settings. Previously, Cara served for three and a half years as Assistant Director of Assessment Services at the Child and Family Resource Clinic at the University of North Texas, where she coordinated the psychoeducational assessment program, supervised doctoral clinicians, and helped oversee clinic operations. 

In addition to her clinical work, Cara has presented locally in Texas on topics related to play therapy, child-teacher relationships, educator well-being, and child development. She has taught and supervised graduate counseling students and helped prepare future counselors through clinical supervision, teaching, and professional scholarship. Her research has explored educator well-being and ways to strengthen relationships between children and the important adults in their lives. 

Outside of counseling, Cara enjoys cooking, traveling, hiking, tackling creative projects, and finding any excuse to be outdoors. She especially enjoys spending time with family and friends. 

Cara's Counseling Approach

I practice from a person-centered, humanistic approach and view each person through a developmental lens, recognizing that our needs, capacities, and ways of understanding ourselves naturally change across the lifespan. My role is to provide a relationship grounded in empathy, acceptance, and genuine understanding, where people feel free to explore their experiences without fear of judgment or expectation. I trust in each person's capacity to move toward greater self-understanding when provided with the time, support, and conditions to do so. I am committed to providing culturally responsive, affirming care so that people of all backgrounds, identities, and family structures experience counseling as a place where they are welcomed, respected, and valued.