Tara Wiker

MEET TARA:

Tara has over a decade of advanced clinical experience helping children, teens, adults coming into her office for individual, couples and family and group therapy.  She welcomes individuals from all backgrounds into her office and is proud to work with the individuals from all cultural backgrounds, along with members on the LGBTQ community.  Tara appreciates getting to work systemically by understanding each of her clients’ family and community roles in their lives.  She’s honored to join the Sun Point Counseling Team to provide bilingual Spanish therapy services and hopes to continue to provide an evidence-based down to earth approach to offering therapy that helps people thrive.  

     Tara has a wealth of experience working as a School-Based Outpatient Therapist for over five years with a local outpatient counseling agency  and also serving as Outpatient Therapist with Community Services Group for five years. In addition, she was also a Family Life Educator for six years. Regarding career accomplishments, Tara is honored to hear her client’s stories each day and is appreciative of all her graduate school teachers and mentors who encouraged her to earn her LCSW Clinical License.  

     If you’re struggling with difficult memories that you can’t move past, Tara encourages her clients to learn about EMDR trauma therapy.  It’s an evidence-based treatment that allows negative beliefs or feelings to no longer identify you in the present.  Tara practices EMDR within a phased approach to trauma treatment and will often bring in relevant DBT and CBT skills and strategies to assist clients in achieving their goals. She has specific training and consultation in attachment and developmental trauma and, depending upon a client's lead, she will incorporate Trauma-Informed Yoga practices, art, dance, and music within the therapy setting.  

     The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz was a book suggested to Tara early in her social work career and something that she continually references its passages  as a reminder to give back to others  in her life. Given her empathic nature, Tara learned how to help others from a young age in her community to overcome obstacles.  Her experiences growing up empowered her on a clinical journey to join with her clients to overcome their mental health challenges so their diagnosis doesn’t define them and Tara enjoys celebrating with her clients with they meet their goals. 

     She views herself as a coach in the therapy process and she always helps her clients on a path to exceed their clinical goals.  She is enthusiastic about finding what works for each client individually and will tailor her treatment to your needs.  She is a lifelong learner continuously seeking out the leaders and teachers in the field to continually learn new, and relevant techniques that are based on research and science.  Tara is a clinician that is person-centered and defines herself as being an advocate, coach, and healer in the journey with her clients. 

     Tara is dedicated to those struggling with regulating their mood, and has formerly co-facilitated the DBT program that provides coping strategies for those with bipolar, PTSD, anxiety and depression.  Through her work as a DBT therapist and an EMDR therapist in community mental health, she has seen clients benefit from the direction and guidance that DBT skills provide within a larger, trauma-focused treatment, such as EMDR.  Tara enjoys working with clients on developing the skills they need to face ongoing challenges, and DBT skills coupled with cognitive or trauma-based therapies often offer a concrete way for clients to achieve their goals.

     Tara’s areas of expertise include developmental trauma, religious trauma, dissociation, self-harm, borderline personality disorder, dialectical behavioral therapy, grief, non-directive play therapy, ADHD (children and adults), mood disorders and compassion fatigue (specifically with medical and helping professionals).  

     When it comes to hobbies, she is a big believer in giving back whenever possible. She takes pride in the Lancaster Community and loves being a part of it by supporting her friends and family whether it’s by signing up for a run that benefits a cause close to her heart or volunteering at the book fair at her son’s school. Music and dance also formed part of her healing journey and she loved learning acoustic guitar from her husband and even occasionally belts out random lyrics and dances to songs that speak to her. Tara loves to learn about the world we live in through traveling and exploring as much as possible.