Cara Brand RCC

Cara completed her MA at the University of Victoria. She followed her graduate degree with clinical supervision and delivering group therapy sessions and outpatient treatment for pediatric OCD at Vancouver Coastal Health. She has completed post-graduate training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention, and Habit Reversal Training. She has studied at the International OCD Foundation’s Behavior Therapy Training Institute, the Yale Child Study Centre, and the TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior’s Professional Training Institute. She remains committed to best practice, learning about the latest research, and hearing the voices of those with lived experience with OCD.

Cara is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who specializes in the treatment of pediatric and adolescent anxiety, OCD and related disorders. She has experience both in private practice and with Vancouver Coastal Health’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health program. At the core of Cara’s therapeutic approach is the belief that a safe and trusting relationship is paramount when working with children, teens, and young adults. This is why Cara combines evidence-based behavioral therapies such as exposure and response prevention, habit reversal and dialectical behavioral therapy with the cultivation of a strong relationship.

Cara knows from working with young people that access to OCD treatment can be life-saving, and that unfortunately barriers continue to exist to accessing safe and effective OCD therapy for many communities. Cara identifies as a cis-gendered settler of European ancestry. She has completed cross-cultural training through the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program and worked extensively with intergenerational trauma including families living both urban and on reserve. She also welcomes those who identify as neurodivergent.