Cara J. Dixon, LPC, NCC

Cara J. Dixon, LPC, NCC is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania, and Nationally Board Certified Counselor (NCC). She has been in the mental health field for over 25 years, and in program leadership and development since 2014. Cara is highly sought after and with a reputation for excellence, she is often requested by high-profile individuals across a broad spectrum of specialized needs. 

 

Cara started her work in research, contributing to two longitudinal studies at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania in child development.  This work inspired a passion to equip others through holistic interventions focused on growth. Cara applied this research in the school setting, measuring the efficacy of specific interventions and developing plans for implementation at home, at school, and in the community.  

 

Next, Cara served as Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at a boarding school in the northeast, guiding students and families from over 26 different countries.  Cara’s work led to her consulting with several other schools and organizations on how to build a multi-tiered system of support. Her work supporting private schools has been published by an international accrediting body which serves over 3000 independent  schools.

 

Cara went on to broaden the systems-focused model of quality care implementation to larger mental health care systems, designed to provide stabilization and treatment to individuals in acute clinical care settings.  In 2015, Cara developed an Intensive Outpatient Program and Partial Hospitalization Program on Philadelphia’s Main Line. Here, she served as the lead accreditation officer for the Joint Commission; under Cara’s leadership, the program received a gold star of approval for passing safety and quality measures for over 1,000 behavioral health standards.

 

In 2020, Cara started Growth Minded Counseling and Consulting with a vision to expand quality resources in an outpatient setting.

 

Currently, Cara serves as an EMDR Consultant, supervising clinicians and providing  EMDR therapy. Cara is also trained in Schema Therapy from the International Schema Therapy Institute.  

 

In 2023, Cara co-founded a 501c3 called Root to Branch, which works to make trauma care more accessible to first responders, military, cancer/medical trauma patients, and victims of disaster and interpersonal or community violence. Cara is trained in RTEP, an EMDR protocol that is specific to these populations. Cara is working to get this training and certification to other area providers so that clinicians in the community are well resourced to support the needs in the Philadelphia area. 

 

Cara teaches at the University of Pennsylvania as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education.  

 

In 2025 Cara won the Women of Influence Award in the Main Line and Philadelphia area from Family Focus Media. She also received the Unsung Hero Award from the Caron Foundation.

 

Cara has an enduring passion to reduce suicide rates, addiction, detached living, untreated trauma, to resource the community with more accessible quality care options, and to contribute to a healthier society for the common good.