Lara Barbir (she/her)

I have received specialty certifications in multiple cognitive behavioral therapies, including insomnia (CBT-I), chronic pain (CBT-CP), cognitive processing therapy for PTSD (CPT), and brief prolonged exposure for PTSD (PE-PC). I currently supervise psychology trainees in the utilization of these therapies. I also completed an intensive training in CBT at the Beck Institute in Philadelphia, PA in 2013.

I have gratefully received specialized training in IPT by Dr. Scott Stuart himself while working at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, and find that I regularly integrate this approach into treatment as suffering often occurs in context of changes in the dynamics and quality of one's relationships. I have experience in utilizing this modality with a myriad of presenting issues, including depression, grief/bereavement, perinatal mood disorders, trauma/PTSD, and life transitions.

Having started working with the Veteran population extensively since 2016, treating trauma and PTSD are one of my primary passions as a psychotherapist. Whether your trauma dates back from childhood or occurred as an adult, whether the nature of the trauma is related to war, a natural disaster, sexual assault, physical/emotional abuse, the death of loved ones, or a combination thereof, your trauma is valid and I am here to help you heal. I tend to use EMDR and interpersonal approaches.

I have both professionally witnessed and personally experienced the magic made by the use of EMDR in therapy for the last several years, and am currently publishing a book about EMDR for depression. Each of us is greatly impacted by our individual early learning experiences and EMDR seems to facilitate connections with these and rapidly achieve insight in service of changing unhelpful patterns of relating to ourselves.

During my VA career I was the designated women's primary care psychologist, and I also spent some of my week in the women's mental health/trauma clinic providing group and individual psychotherapy. I am also trained in perinatal mental health and especially enjoy working with women during the pregnancy and postpartum period. I have received a specialty certificate in Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) for Reproductive Mental Health.

Since 2013 I have obtained specialty training in and effectively delivered multiple evidence-based treatments for depression, including interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). I have also received specialized training in perinatal depression.