Karla Varvel, MBA serves as the Human Resources Manager for Lumera Healthcare, where she provides strategic leadership in talent acquisition, employee engagement, organizational development, compliance, and workforce planning. With a Master of Business Administration emphasizing Human Resources, she is dedicated to aligning people strategies with organizational goals while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and excellence. Her approach combines strategic vision with practical execution, ensuring that employees and leaders have the resources and support needed to succeed.

Throughout her career, Karla has been passionate about building high-performing teams and creating workplace environments where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to grow. She believes that strong leadership begins with investing in people and developing processes that promote transparency, consistency, and continuous improvement. Her expertise includes recruitment and
retention, performance management, employee relations, policy development, benefits administration, and leadership support, all with a focus on driving organizational success through exceptional human capital management.

As a member of Lumera Healthcare’s leadership team, Karla is committed to advancing the organization’s mission by cultivating a workplace culture centered on integrity, innovation, and service. She partners closely with leaders across the organization to attract top talent, strengthen employee development, and implement forward-thinking HR strategies that support sustainable growth while delivering an outstanding employee experience.

I love getting to do what I do because I can help support people through some of their most vulnerable moments and help them build meaningful, lasting stability. Working with both children and adults allows me to address mental health across the lifespan, recognizing how early experiences shape long-term well-being while still empowering change at any stage.

My clinical philosophy centers on helping clients find practical, accessible ways to enhance their day-to-day functioning and overall well-being. I believe therapy should feel relevant and usable in real life – not just something that stays in the session. By focusing on small, meaningful changes, I support clients in building skills that translate directly into their relationships, work, and personal growth.

I take a collaborative and flexible approach to patient care, working alongside each client to understand their unique needs, strengths, and goals. Drawing from evidence-based modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), I tailor treatment plans that fit the individual rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model. I view the therapeutic relationship as a partnership, where clients feel empowered, heard, and actively involved in shaping their progress.

What drives my work is a deep belief that life’s transitions – while often challenging – are also powerful opportunities for growth and change. I recognize that navigating these moments can feel overwhelming, and at times, everyone benefits from support, guidance, or simply having someone walk alongside them. My goal is to provide that steady presence while helping clients build confidence, resilience, and the tools they need to move forward with greater clarity and purpose.

I help people understand, process, and live faithfully in the reality of loss. Even when my clients don’t present with grief, it’s often underneath: loss of identity, loss of expectations, loss of control. That’s grief, even if it is unnamed. I use a grief-informed care lens with primary modalities of CBT and ACT.

As a Christian counselor, I am always ready to integrate Biblical principles, Scripture, and prayer into my work with clients who are interested in strengthening their faith or learning more about Christianity.

Engaging in counseling is one way we can “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2.) I care deeply about how people live, not just how they think; I don’t want to just help my clients get over symptoms, but I want to help them live faithfully even when life is hard.

I’m comfortable with the weighty, soul-level questions and conversations people feel they have nowhere else to bring.

I am passionate about walking alongside people where they are in life to help them become the best version of themselves that they can be. Seeing people’s quality of life improve keeps me coming to work everyday.