My name is Cari Whittenburg. I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and owner/provider at Take Heart Therapy + Coaching. My approach integrates trauma-informed, values-based, and attachment-focused therapy to resolve deeply seated beliefs in an inviting and compassionate environment designed to encourage a therapeutic relationship built on trust, caring, and mutual respect. What I do is not just a career, it is a calling to walk alongside those who feel stuck to find ways to feel better and maneuver in this uncertain and imperfect world.
No matter the specifics of what you are dealing with, my focus is on whole person care recognizing its significant role in balancing, realizing, and optimizing well-being. I strive to maintain an empathetic energy and am passionate about helping you find your footing when things seem overwhelming. I wholeheartedly believe that the challenges we all face can be catalysts for positive and lasting transformation.
Together, we will discuss and discover your unique set of needs. I am committed to utilizing individualized, well-researched, and proven therapeutic techniques to help you navigate your therapeutic journey. I will share with you a path to understanding yourself more profoundly and real skills that you can take away and apply immediately that allow you to start living a life that runs towards your values and purpose instead of away from them.
I know asking for help can be hard! If you have tried and are tired of living with triggers and dwelling on worries, fears, shame, self-doubt, feelings of unworthiness, or anything else you wrestle with, there is another way. I can't promise the road will be easy, but what I can say is that there is hope and the effort is worth it.
Who I Am
Hi again!
Living a rich, full, meaningful life is the goal!
Jesus, getting enough rest, caffeine boosts, good boundaries, laughing until it hurts, saying no, freedom over functioning, necessary endings, speaking truth and life into yourself and others, accepting the good along with the bad, and small shifts that equal big change.
Doing therapy, homeschooling my son, loving on my family and friends, training Snickers the Therapy Dog, traveling, being hands and feet, expanding my knowledge, creating digital inspiration, and setting intentions to be the change I want to see in the world.
I believe in:
Judgement, toxic shaming, overfunctioning, avoidance, forcing a false sense of certainty, being perfect over present, self-abandonment, downplaying our power or forgetting our strength, inflexible thinking, and going along with the crowd.
I'm not about:
You can find me:
Daily practices:
Reciting the Serenity Prayer, connecting with my Real Self, living inside my hula hoop (If ya know, ya know - if you don't, I can show you how!), practicing gratitude, creating small sparks of joy, experiencing awe, and nightly meditation.
A few of my
favorite quotes
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
- Nathaniel Hawthorn
This is the season I will make beautiful things.
Not perfect things, but honest things that speak
to who I am and who
I am meant to be.
- Morgan Harper Nichols
