Logo for Heart Centered Therapy, LLC, offering telehealth therapy for high-functioning adults in Maryland and DMV. Logo shows a heart inside a tree with practice name underneath.

Heart Centered Therapy LLC | Betrayal Trauma Therapy in Maryland, Virginia, and DC

Serving clients in Maryland, including Frederick and Montgomery Counties, as well as the greater DMV region.

Betrayal trauma therapy & relational healing for high‑functioning adults ready to make lasting change.

Action Oriented. Compassion Focused. Heart Centered.

Are you living in the aftermath of betrayal?

You’ve built a successful life.

But now, you discovered something that changed everything— an affair, a hidden life, a pattern of deception you never saw coming. Or maybe the betrayal came from a parent, a workplace, or an institution you trusted completely. Whatever the source, the ground has shifted, and you are not sure who to trust anymore— including yourself.

You might be outwardly calm and capable, yet still carry perfectionism, people-pleasing, or shame that never seems to fade. You feel tense, anxious, or never quite “enough.”

If you grew up in an alcoholic, chaotic, or emotionally unpredictable family, those old dynamics can quietly shape how you move through adult relationships— and how hard it can be to see certain patterns until something finally breaks open.

Tall green tree with long branches in a forest, symbolizing growth and healing for therapy clients
Headshot of Kara Holthaus, LCPC of Heart Centered Therapy LLC in Maryland and DMV. Kara is smiling and wearing glasses with a bright natural background, giving a welcoming and positive vibe.

Therapy for high-functioning adults ready to go beyond survival mode

I work with adults who appear capable and successful but carry something quietly painful underneath. Many of my clients are navigating the aftermath of betrayal— a partner's infidelity, a surfaced family secret, a workplace that turned out to be toxic or dishonest— and are trying to make sense of what happened and who they are now.

My clients often navigate relationship conflict, family-of-origin wounds, or cycles of codependency and perfectionism. They are ready to stop running on autopilot, understand their patterns, and create healthier relationships with others and themselves.

You want to go deeper and not just focus on learning coping skills or rehashing the current events. You are emotionally reflective and motivated to engage in insight-oriented work.

I am eager to work with you to get to the heart of the matter and put energy toward change and growth.

Serving clients throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. via telehealth.

Including professionals in Frederick, Montgomery County communities like Bethesda, Potomac, and Chevy Chase, and Howard County areas including Columbia and Ellicott City.

  • When we become inquisitive about these things, look into them, see who we are and what we do, with the curiosity of a young child, what might seem like a problem becomes a source of wisdom.

    —Pema Chödrön

  • Awakeness is found in our pleasure and our pain, our confusion and our wisdom, available in each moment of our weird, unfathomable, ordinary everyday lives.

    —Pema Chödrön

  • Begin the journey without hope of getting ground under your feet. Begin with hopelessness.

    —Pema Chödrön