{"id":45671,"date":"2026-06-19T10:05:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/?post_type=cu_people&p=45671"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:13:03","slug":"kayla-garcia","status":"publish","type":"cu_people","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/people\/kayla-garcia\/","title":{"rendered":"Kayla Garcia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kayla<\/strong> earned her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2016. She went on to complete a Social Service Worker diploma at Algonquin College, followed by a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. Kayla now works as a Registered Psychotherapist<\/strong> with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n

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“You don’t need to have everything figured out. I think there’s a lot of pressure to know exactly where you’re headed, but for many people that’s just not how it works. My path wasn’t a straight line, and some of the most important opportunities came from taking the next step before I felt completely ready. It’s okay if it takes time to figure things out. You’re not behind.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Brief description of what I do!<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I’m a Registered Psychotherapist<\/strong> based in Ottawa, Ontario, where I work with adults and couples navigating anxiety, relationships, life transitions, and the general messiness of being human. My approach is warm, collaborative, and practical, and I aim to create a space where people can show up exactly as they are without feeling judged or needing to have it all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What inspired your career path after graduation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I’ve always been interested in people and what makes them tick. Psychology felt like a natural fit because I was curious about why people think, feel, and behave the way they do. Over time, I realized I was especially drawn to the relational side of things and wanted to work directly with people, which eventually led me to pursue psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did your experience in the psychology program shape your journey?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

My psychology degree gave me a strong foundation for understanding human behaviour, but it also taught me how to think critically and stay curious. Looking back, I don’t think I appreciated at the time how often I’d use those skills in both my work and everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What skills or experiences were most valuable after graduation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to think critically, communicate effectively, and look at problems from multiple perspectives has been incredibly valuable. More than anything, psychology taught me that human behaviour is complex and that there usually isn’t one simple explanation for why people do what they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are there specific Psychology courses, professors, or experiences that stood out during your time at Carleton?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What stands out most to me is the variety within psychology itself. Being exposed to different theories, perspectives, and ways of understanding people helped me realize just how broad the field is and ultimately played a role in guiding me toward psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has been a highlight or proud moment in your career so far?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a Registered Psychotherapist was definitely a proud moment but the most meaningful part of my work is getting to witness people make changes they once thought weren’t possible. Seeing someone build confidence, navigate a difficult chapter of life, or start treating themselves with more compassion never gets old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328,"featured_media":45673,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cu_people_first_name":"Kayla ","cu_people_last_name":"Garcia","cu_people_initials":"KG","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_people_type":[55],"cu_people_expertise":[],"class_list":["post-45671","cu_people","type-cu_people","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_people_type-alumni-profiles"],"acf":{"cu_people_job_title":"","cu_people_degree":"Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (2016)","cu_building":"","cu_people_office_num":"","cu_people_pronoun":"","cu_people_designation":"","cu_people_email":"","cu_people_phone":"","cu_people_phone_ext":"","cu_people_linkedin":"","cu_people_bluesky":"","cu_people_twitter":"","cu_people_instagram":"","cu_people_facebook":"","cu_people_website":"","cu_people_orcid":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/45671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_people"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/328"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/45671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45675,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people\/45671\/revisions\/45675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_people_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people_type?post=45671"},{"taxonomy":"cu_people_expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/psychology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_people_expertise?post=45671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}