About Claire Karakey, LPC-S

Counseling’s biggest cheerleader!

You must know this about me… I genuinely care about the people with whom I’m working. During my time with clients, they know they are the focus and have my undivided attention. I am there to celebrate successes as well as sit together during uncomfortable times. I am rooting for ALL of the revelations – even setbacks can be viewed as progress!

Outside my new role as Clinical Director, I enjoy working with both children and adults, I specialize in treating depression, anxiety, trauma, addiction, chronic pain or illness, grief and loss, and navigating life transitions. I have extensive training in shame and trauma and understand the negative thinking loops they send us on. I am proud to be EMDRIA certified in EMDR therapy and am now embarking on training to become an EMDR consultant!

Being a therapist and helping others has been a dream since I was 12 years old, sitting on the other side of the couch. Therapy was a gamechanger for me then – and it still is today. I feel that it is beyond essential to help people learn and accept who they are to better connect to themselves and others.

Now that I am a certified supervisor in the state of Arizona, I also love mentoring other counselors to help them flourish and develop their own unique style and specialties. I am honored to lead and support the amazing team of talented therapists we have here at Claibourne Counseling!

I am both a Sun Devil and a Wildcat!

I am a Tucson native and attended the University of Arizona. I explored my love of sports by representing the women’s tennis team and began my career as a special education teacher. As a teacher, I taught functional academics, such as life skills, sportsmanship, social skills, and more. Then I continued to Arizona State University for my Masters of Counseling to pursue my passion for helping people on a more individualized level. I am honored to supervise the therapists in my current role as Clinical Director!

At home, I enjoy music, cooking, watching movies, hosting BBQs, game nights, and spending time with my husband, Chas, and our family and friends. The dog park is my happy place – and Rosie and Hank, my golden retrievers, probably agree! I am also a cat person… Harry and Herbert are my two feline fur babies. And the Bath and Body Works annual sale is a frickin’ holiday for me – I’m obsessed with candles. 😉

I’m human, just like you. I continue to learn daily and work hard to embrace it all – and I’m so happy you’re here to begin the next step in your life!