Death of Caitlin MacCalla, M.A., LMFT, Dedicated Trauma-Informed Therapist and Founder of Tides of Healing, San Jose, CA

 The San Jose community and mental health community are grieving the death of Caitlin MacCalla, M.A., LMFT, a dedicated trauma-informed therapist whose work touched countless lives over more than 20 years.

Caitlin, the founder of Tides of Healing, has 17 years of California Marriage and Family Therapy experience (CA License #47854). She has worked in clinical and social care settings for over 20 years, assisting individuals, families, and communities.

Many people who knew her professionally and personally, as well as those in the mental health community, were deeply saddened by her passing. Caitlin's job stands out due to her passion for helping people navigate challenging emotional and interpersonal situations.

After completing official training as a narrative therapist, she specialized in co-parenting counseling, divorce, blended families, bi-cultural and racial couples and families, children, and adolescents.

Working with her clients to co-create narratives that helped them achieve long-lasting mental and emotional well-being, she advocated for a strength-based approach. Forensic psychology, female empowerment, preventing domestic violence, trauma, loss, and mood disorders, adolescent mental health, and family systems work were among her areas of expertise.

Caitlin took a thorough, trauma-informed, and highly intersectional approach because she recognized the substantial impact that social structures, oppression, and cultural factors had on mental health.

Executive function coaching, family and dependency court, group therapy, sex offender treatment, K–12 school counseling, and managing treatment teams in nonprofit organizations are just a few of the various settings in which Caitlin has worked throughout her career.

She also helped neurodivergent people, teenagers in foster care, and families coping with co-parenting and blended family dynamics. Caitlin's practice was based on cultural humility, anti-racism, and a commitment to providing safe, supportive therapy environments for all of her clients.

Because of her dedication to advocacy, professional excellence, and client empowerment, she acted as a mentor and role model for colleagues in the mental health field. Along with her professional achievements, Caitlin was a devoted mother who placed a high priority on her family.

She loved spending time with her kid and enjoyed cooking, baking, reading, and planning special outings. Friends and family remember her as lovely, caring, and sympathetic, always trying to improve her life and profession.

She was wise, caring, and unwaveringly committed to supporting others in their quest for healing. The loss of Caitlin is keenly felt by everyone she touched, including her clients, colleagues, friends, and family.

However, her legacy endures because of the lives she transformed, the narratives she helped rewrite, and the lasting contributions she made to trauma-informed care, mental health, and advocacy for marginalized communities.