Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others.
-Pema Chodron
Hello, I’m Lauren.
I’m a therapist but you may also call me a fellow traveler on your path to healing. In caring for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, I started my own journey as a veterinary nurse for dogs and cats. I greatly valued my relationships with the humans who were caregivers to these pets and it led me to become a therapist. My professional experience is wide ranging and includes providing grief counseling within hospice, school and community based counseling for teens, case management and intake for families, and serving young adults struggling with significant mental illness and complex trauma.
My therapeutic style is authentic, practical, and compassionate. And my commitment to you is that I am also doing the work of healing and come into the room as a human first, therapist second. My work with each client will vary depending on their unique needs, so while I predominantly work from relational and trauma informed perspectives, I also draw from the following modalities: Existential-Humanistic, Mindfulness, Parts Work, Somatic Practices, Expressive Arts, and Holistic Psychology.
In my free time, I value staying active and getting outdoors as much as possible. I am passionate about nurturing the relationships in my life, my animals, and the environment.
Licensure
California Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #107351
Education
M.S. Clinical Psychology
Notre Dame de Namur University
B.A. Integrative Biology
University of California, Berkeley
Certifications
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for Trauma - Level 1 | Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute
Healing Shame Practitioner | Center for Healing Shame
Compassionate Bereavement Care Provider | Center for Loss and Trauma in partnership with the MISS Foundation and the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Family Trust
Working with the Neurobiological Legacy of Trauma, Level 1 | Janina Fisher, PhD