Holistic Therapy & Couples Counseling in Manhattan Beach, CA

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Somatic, Body-Based Therapy

Somatic, body-focused therapies offer a powerful and research-informed approach to healing trauma by working directly with the nervous system rather than relying on insight alone. Trauma is not only a psychological experience. It is also stored in the body through patterns of tension, hypervigilance, shutdown, or reactivity. When we address trauma at the level of the body, we create the conditions for change that feel integrated rather than forced.

This work emphasizes pacing, choice, and physiological safety. Instead of repeatedly revisiting painful memories in ways that overwhelm, somatic therapy supports clients in gently tracking sensations, restoring regulation, and completing survival responses that were interrupted in the past. As the nervous system stabilizes, many people notice they feel more grounded, less reactive, and more connected to themselves and others. By centering embodiment and regulation, somatic therapy fosters resilience, integration, and a deeper sense of vitality that extends well beyond symptom relief.

Somatic Therapies Offered:

  • Somatic Experiencing® Therapy focuses on nervous system regulation and the completion of survival responses.

  • EMDR Trauma Therapy: helps the brain reprocess distressing memories so they lose their emotional charge.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS): (also known as part-work) allows clients to build compassionate relationships with protective and wounded parts of themselves.

  • Therapeutic Touch & Somatic Yoga: deepen awareness of bodily cues, fostering safety, embodiment, and self-trust.

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TRAUMA THERAPY For Adults

Trauma therapy offers a focused and compassionate path toward healing experiences that continue to shape how you relate to yourself, others, and the world. Trauma can stem from a single overwhelming event or from prolonged exposure to stress, neglect, or relational harm. Over time, these experiences may show up as anxiety, emotional reactivity, perfectionism, burnout, relationship difficulties, or a persistent sense of not feeling safe or fully yourself.

In trauma-focused work, we move at a pace that honors your nervous system and your story. Rather than pushing for disclosure or catharsis, therapy centers stability, choice, and integration. Together, we build the capacity to process what has happened without becoming overwhelmed by it. As old patterns begin to soften, many clients experience greater emotional regulation, clearer boundaries, deeper self-trust, and more authentic connection. Trauma therapy is not only about reducing symptoms. It is about restoring wholeness, agency, and the ability to live with presence and meaning.

TRAUMA SPECIALIZATIONS:

  • Therapy for Complex Trauma (C-PTSD): Support for adults navigating the long-term effects of relational trauma, chronic stress, or attachment wounds, with a focus on nervous system repair and rebuilding a stable sense of self.

  • Therapy for Burnout & Type A’s: For high-achieving, driven individuals who appear successful outwardly but feel exhausted, anxious, or disconnected inside, this work addresses perfectionism, overfunctioning, and chronic pressure.

  • Therapy for Sexual Trauma: A paced and trauma-informed space to process sexual harm, restore safety in the body, and reclaim agency, boundaries, and embodied autonomy.

  • Therapy for Healers: Dedicated support for therapists, coaches, facilitators, and space-holders who carry others professionally and need a confidential place to process, regulate, and tend to their own inner world.

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COUPLES COUNSELING & RELATIONSHIP THERAPY

Couples counseling offers a structured and compassionate space to understand what is happening beneath recurring conflict, distance, or miscommunication. Relationship distress is rarely about the surface issue. It is often shaped by attachment patterns, nervous system responses, and protective strategies that developed long before the current partnership. When couples begin to see the cycle instead of blaming each other, the dynamic can start to shift.

Our work focuses on strengthening connection while building practical skills that support lasting change. Sessions combine insight, emotional depth, and concrete tools so you can communicate more clearly, repair conflict more effectively, and respond to one another from a place of safety rather than reactivity. As trust grows, many couples experience greater intimacy, teamwork, and resilience, creating a relationship that feels both secure and alive.

Couples Therapy Approaches:

  • Gottman Method-Informed: Grounded in research-based principles that strengthen friendship, improve conflict repair, and build lasting relational stability.

  • Emotion-Focused: Centered on deepening emotional connection by identifying patterns and fostering secure, vulnerable communication.

  • Attachment + Trauma-Informed: Attuned to how early attachment wounds and nervous system patterns shape conflict, intimacy, and closeness.

  • Skills & Tools-Based: Practical strategies and structured tools that help couples communicate clearly, navigate conflict, and create sustainable change.

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PSYCHEDELIC-ASSISTED & INTEGRATIVE THERAPIES

Psychedelic-assisted and integrative therapies offer expanded pathways for healing, insight, and nervous system recalibration when approached with intention and clinical care. Altered and non-ordinary states can open access to material that may be difficult to reach through talk therapy alone. When held within a grounded, ethical container, these experiences can support emotional processing, perspective shifts, and deeper connection to Self.

This work prioritizes preparation, safety, and integration. The goal is not peak experience, but meaningful embodiment of what emerges. Through structured preparation, intentional session support, and thoughtful integration, clients are guided to translate insight into sustainable change. When approached responsibly, these therapies can foster clarity, healing, and a renewed sense of purpose and alignment.

TRAUMA SPECIALIZATIONS:

  • Ketamine-Assisted Therapy: A clinically supported approach using ketamine to facilitate breakthrough insight and trauma processing within a structured therapeutic container.

  • Psychedelic Integration Therapy: Support for making sense of past psychedelic experiences and integrating insights into daily life with stability and discernment.

  • Cacao-Assisted Therapy: Heart-centered therapeutic work incorporating ceremonial cacao to gently enhance emotional openness and embodied awareness.

  • Reiki Energy Healing: A subtle, restorative practice that supports nervous system regulation and energetic balance through intentional, attuned touch.

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Holistic Trauma Therapy & Couples Counseling serving Manhattan Beach residents

via ONLINE & In-Person Sessions

A woman with long brown hair, smiling with arms crossed, wearing a black blazer over a white top, standing in front of a white wall with a beige macrame wall hanging and green plants.

Hi, I’m Clara Mackinlay

I’m an integrative therapist who works with adults and couples seeking holistic, body-based, emotionally focused, and spiritually grounded trauma and relationship healing.

My approach is:

  • Authentic and human. I show up as myself to give you permission to show up as you. Sometimes I’m dressed up, sometimes I’m in sweatpants. I’m always barefoot. I like to cuss.

  • Honest and boundaried. I know therapy is an expensive investment, and as much as I care deeply about my clients, I don’t want to work with you forever—because that would mean I’m not doing my job.

  • Warm and supportive, but direct. I’ll meet you where you are and push you into the places that feel uncomfortable, messy, and a little icky. Because that’s where the healing actually happens.

  • Deep and meaningful: I’m not a surface-level therapist, so if you’re looking to just talk about your feelings or vent for sessions on end, I’m probably not your girl.

If you’re ready to get to work, willing to be uncomfortable, and open to real change—let’s setup a time to chat or keep exploring my website.

  • Associate Marriage & Family Therapist
    California Board of Behavioral Sciences, #149677

    Master of Arts, Clinical Psychology
    Antioch University, Los Angeles

    Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
    University of California, Los Angeles

  • *Please note this list is not exhaustive. I value lifelong learning and continually engage in trainings, certification programs, practice, and consultation with industry experts. These are just a few highlights.

    Somatic Experiencing Advanced Practitioner (in progress)
    Somatic Experiencing® International

    EMDR Basic Training
    Trauma Therapist Institute

    Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Levels 1 & 2
    The Gottman Institute

    Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
    Journey Clinical | Fluence

    Ayahuasca Mystery School
    Plant Medicine People

    Relational Movement & Touch for Attachment Trauma
    Leah Smith, LMFT, SEP

    Introduction to Developmental Movement
    Debra Clydesdale, SEP

    Unfreezing the Fawn with Somatic Experiencing®
    Shideh Lennon, SEP, PhD

    Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate
    Dr. Abi Blakeslee, SEP

    Trauma-Focused CBT Certificate
    The Medical University of South Carolina

    Certified Reiki Level I, II, and III
    Mikao Usui lineage; attuned by Justin Randolph

    Certified RYT-250, Vinyasa & Yin Yoga
    SolSeek, Manhattan Beach

    Certified Plant Medicine Integration Coach
    Plant Medicine People

    • Somatic Experiencing® (SE)

    • Eye-Movement & Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)

    • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

    • Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

    • The Gottman Method

    • Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

    • Psychodynamic Therapy

    • Attachment & Relationally-Oriented Therapy

    • NeuroAffective Touch & Kathy Kain’s Somatic Approach

    • Embodied Integration

    • Somatic Yoga & Movement

    • Reiki & Pranic Energy Healing

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DEEPLY RELATIONAL • SUPER SOMATIC • KINDA WOO • ALWAYS AUTHENTIC