Carson Kivari

I’ve been at this a while now.

A peer counsellor since I was 13, a near-death at 16 that made me spiritually obsessed, studying psychology since I was 17, working with veterans since my early 20s, and directing my clinic since 2013. I say this not for stature, but to share that I’ve had a long time to contemplate psychology, psychotherapy, spirituality, and the nature of suffering. I’ve seen trends come and go and developed a nausea toward ignorance.

First off, my conclusions don’t reflect those of my team: Thrive is a place of authentic expression, where each therapist is practicing healing from the sincerity of who they are. My views are more radical—so don’t let them reflect your decision to work with any of them.

The conclusion I have come to, however, is that not some, but all of our suffering stems from misunderstanding who and what we are, and why we exist. We live in a society of materialism, human objectification, obsession with comfort, and clinging to entertainment as a distraction from depth and meaning.

Separate from our true spiritual reason for existence, our bodies and minds wither in pointlessness.

We are unconscious puppets in someone else’s story, which lacks truth in its plot. We consume malnutritious food, contrived news, scripted politics, intentionally debased pop culture, and the hunger for spiritual meaning is labeled as fringe. We are taught that we are at the centre of what is important—paradoxically becoming sicker the more we cling to pleasure.

We are the first society in history to invert these ideals. And we are socialized to criticize those who question it.

Are you ready for a light-bulb moment of hey wait, this isn’t right? Are you ready to stop defending your own suffering? Are you ready to stop the contradiction of wanting peace while clinging to things as they exist?

Working with me is not about removing symptoms so you can return to the system that made you sick. It’s about aiming for the absolute top of who you are meant to be—someone resourced infinitely from your identity as an image bearer of God, with unique superpowers that only you have to contribute to the world’s spiritual evolution (hint: it’s not through the small plotlines in your head that were taught to you by people who don’t have your best interest in mind).

Our work is deeply challenging. It’s not about 5–10% shifts so you can return to the same life but with less anxiety. It’s about purging your association to goals and wants that made you sick to your stomach and turning towards the best, and only source of true happiness.

I promise you that if you’re done with the endless tinkering with your childhood and the quest to make anxiety disappear, you’ll find something so much more fulfilling and joyful you’ll wish you found it 20 years ago.

What is at stake here isn’t recovering from trauma or depression. It’s rescuing your soul from sabotage. It’s the individual effort to become what we’re supposed to be, to tip the scales away from everything you see on the news.

When you’re ready for real change, reach out.