Samantha Kemp Carlin
LMHC
She/They
The Serious Stuff…
Samantha is a licensed mental health counselor and certified LGBTQ Affirmative Psychotherapist. As a queer- and neurodivergent-identified therapist, she is passionate about working with folks who have experienced oppression, marginalization, and stigma related to their identities. She strives to be culturally aware and to address each client and their unique needs through the use of a variety of techniques including ACT, DBT, expressive art, and harm reduction strategies. As a Certified Geek Therapist, she loves incorporating client interests like superheroes, video games, tabletop role playing games, anime, and other fandoms into evidence based approaches to enhance the therapeutic experience and outcomes. Prior to Lifeworks, Samantha provided trauma-informed therapy to transition age youth (ages 16-25) including former foster youth experiencing chronic homelessness, extreme poverty, abuse, human trafficking, addiction, and other adversities.
Samantha sees clients in the Ankeny office.
The Fun Stuff…
As a self-avowed geek, Samantha enjoys a number of geeky interests including video games (Skyrim, Breath of the Wild, Animal Crossing), the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, science fiction/fantasy, anything dystopian, and all things Wonder Woman. They also play the ukulele and love singing in the High Holy Days choir at Temple B’nai Jeshurun. When not at the office, they can be found crocheting or crafting, playing board games with friends, or curled up on the couch bingeing horror movies, murder mysteries, or true crime documentaries with their spouse and two black cats.