Kara Marino
Specialties
Bio
Kara Marino is a licensed professional counselor and the owner of Peaks & Valleys Behavioral Health, seeing adults by telehealth across Arizona and Utah. Her work centers on adults with ADHD, especially women who were diagnosed later in life after years of masking, overcompensating, or feeling like they were somehow falling short. She also works with anxiety and trauma, and supports clients through depression, perfectionism, self-esteem, women’s health, and the perinatal season.
Kara’s interest in ADHD is both personal and professional. She was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult herself, and having a framework for experiences she had struggled to understand changed the way she saw herself. It also gave her a deeper appreciation for what it can mean to finally hear that there might be a reason this has been so hard.
There might be a reason this has been so hard.
Her approach is warm, collaborative, and practical, with an emphasis on understanding why something feels difficult rather than simply trying to work harder at it. She describes herself as a very relational therapist, and the relationship built in therapy matters to her. She draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic, person-centered, relational, and strengths-based approaches, and works with young adults and adults.
Kara is an ADHD Certified Clinical Services Provider (ADHD-CCSP) and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP-I), and has completed trainings through the Arizona Trauma Institute in individual and prenatal trauma. She earned a BA in Psychology and an MS in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Chestnut Hill College, and is licensed as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Arizona and a Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Utah. The first appointment is a 60-minute intake at $185, and individual sessions are 50 minutes at $165.
Therapeutic Approach
- Adult ADHD at the center of her work, especially women diagnosed later in life after years of masking, overcompensating, or feeling like they were falling short
- Focused on understanding why something feels difficult, rather than simply trying to work harder at it
- A personal lens as well as a professional one: diagnosed with ADHD as an adult herself, she knows what it means to finally have a framework that makes sense
- Warm, collaborative, and practical, and deeply relational: the relationship built in therapy matters to her
- Draws on CBT, psychodynamic, person-centered, and strengths-based approaches, with trauma training through the Arizona Trauma Institute
Contact
Education
Licenses & Certifications
Rates
Kara is in-network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare/Optum, and Oscar for Arizona clients, and with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah for Utah clients. She also welcomes private-pay clients, and superbills are provided for out-of-network plans. The first appointment is a 60-minute intake assessment, and individual sessions are 50 minutes. A free 15-minute phone consultation is available. Contact the practice to verify current fees, coverage, and availability before scheduling.