Carly Poynter, Psy.D., Registered Psychological Associate

(PSB 94028422)
Supervised by Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D. (PSY15045)
In-person and telehealth

Who I Am

Hello! My name is Carly Poynter. I am a post-doctoral fellow and registered psychological associate.

What I Do

My primary clinical focus and passion is working with individuals struggling with feeding and eating disorders. I also frequently help with other conditions including PTSD, OCD, and postpartum anxiety and depression. Before first working at EDTLA in September 2022, I worked at a well-known treatment center for eating disorders at the residential level of care. I have also worked with intimate partner violence, depression, relationship issues, suicidal ideation, grief and loss, OCD, anxiety disorders, behavioral issues, other childhood disorders, personality disorders, and postpartum depression and anxiety.

I have received formal training in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for suicide, depression, and personality disorders through the Beck Institute. Additionally, I am trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for trauma. I also received formal training in Family-Based Treatment (FBT) from Stanford University School of Medicine. I am able to provide treatment to individuals struggling with ARFID using cognitive behavioral therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR).

More About Me

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Calgary, a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. I completed my internship at Kaiser Permanente, where I refined my clinical and assessment skills working with individuals with eating disorders, postpartum patients, and pediatric neuropsychological and psychodiagnostic assessment.

My current research interests and dissertation focus are on the efficacy of Family-Based Treatment (FBT) and adjunctive treatments to enhance FBT for treating eating disorders. I most recently presented my dissertation research at the International Conference on Eating Disorders (2024).

I was born and raised in Canada and enjoy skiing and curling! In my free time, I enjoy finding pilates and spin classes that promote strength and body positivity.

How I Help

I genuinely believe that anyone can be recovered. I want to help others create a recovery-oriented environment by including family, friends, and other members of the support system. With a solid foundation of support, we can work together to increase coping skills and address the negative beliefs about the self, others, and the world that maintain eating-disordered behavior.

How I help families:

I am trained in FBT and can help families renourish their children and eliminate eating disorders behavior by teaching parents and other caregivers behavioral principles. I believe that creating a safe and nurturing environment for a child to recover is invaluable and requires family involvement. At EDTLA, I also help facilitate the FBT parent support group to provide additional resources to parents helping renourish their child through FBT.

How I help couples:

When a partner is struggling with an eating disorder or another mental illness, the dyad can become strained. I have studied couples therapy and utilize a solutions-focused approach to help couples enhance their strengths and grow closer.

How I help individuals:

To help individuals with an eating disorder, I utilize CBT-E, which begins by working to achieve a consistent pattern of eating and then works to identify barriers to recovery and maintaining factors. For those with ARFID, I apply CBT-AR, which helps individuals gradually incorporate new food items through exposure therapy. In addition, I utilize various psychodiagnostic assessment measures to ensure the accuracy of diagnosis to further individualize treatment.

Publications:

Poynter, Carly, "A systematic review of the effectiveness of family-based treatment with and without adjunctive treatment for children and adolescents with eating disorders" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 1458. https://digitalcommons.p