Carly Poynter, M.A., AMFT, Registered Associate Marital and Family Therapist

Associate Marital and Family Therapist AMFT 114882 (California only)

In-person and telehealth

Who I Am

Hello! My name is Carly Poynter (she/her). I am an associate marriage and family therapist and a current doctoral-level student at Pepperdine University.

What I Do

My primary clinical focus and passion is working with individuals struggling with feeding and eating disorders and co-occurring disorders, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and OCD. Before starting at EDTLA in September 2022, I worked at a well-known treatment center for eating disorders at the residential level of care. I have also worked with intimate partner violence, depression, suicidal ideation, grief and loss, OCD, anxiety disorders, behavioral issues, and other childhood disorders.

I have received formal training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for suicide and depression, and personality disorders through the Beck Institute. I am also trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to help individuals successfully work through trauma by resolving the altered beliefs about the self, others, and the world that result from trauma. In addition to these trainings, I also received formal training in Family-Based Treatment (FBT) from Stanford University School of Medicine.

More About Me

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Calgary and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University.

My current research interests and dissertation focus are on the efficacy of Family-Based Treatment (FBT) and adjunctive treatments to enhance FBT for treating eating disorders.

I was born and raised in Canada and enjoy skiing and curling! In my free time, I enjoy finding pilates and spin classes that promote strength and body positivity.

How I Help

I genuinely believe that anyone can be recovered. I want to help others create a recovery-oriented environment by including family, friends, and other members of the support system. With a solid foundation of support, we can work together to increase coping skills and address the negative beliefs about the self, others, and the world that maintain eating disordered behavior.

How I help families: I am trained in FBT and can help families renourish their children and eliminate eating disorders behavior by teaching parents and other caregivers behavioral principles. I believe that creating a safe and nurturing environment for a child to recover is invaluable and requires family involvement.

How I help individuals: To help individuals with an eating disorder, I utilize CBT-E, which begins by working to achieve a consistent pattern of eating and then works to identify barriers to recovery and identify maintaining factors. To help individuals with ARFID, I utilize CBT-AR, which helps individuals gradually incorporate new food items through exposure therapy.