About lauren
Why I'm here.
I've been a social worker for over 6 years, and a trained Reiki practitioner for 7 years. I have an extensive background working with youth and young adults, in both medical and mental health settings. I have experience working with folks of all genders experiencing chronic illness, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, grief and loss, and homelessness. My professional background includes working with youth and families experiencing socioeconomic poverty, residential eating disorder group therapist, youth homelessness crisis support, as well as performing suicide risk assessments, behavioral health assessments, case management, and medical social work.
What happens to us earlier in life deeply impacts how we develop and learn to navigate the world. I was brought to this work through witnessing the transformation that can occur when clients are listened to and supported non-judgmentally. I’m really passionate about:
Authenticity.
I’m here to witness and support clients discovering their authentic selves, while also bringing my authentic self to every session.
Your authentic self includes your size, race and ethnicity, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and other identities that are important to your lived experience.
Body image/bodily autonomy
How we feel about our bodies impacts how we move through the world. Our bodies can hold trauma and also hold the way forward towards healing.
I use a variety of methods to explore the impacts of weight stigma on how clients feel about their bodies and self-worth. I have extensive experience working with larger-sized folks using weight-neutral approaches to their health and well-being.
I operate from a Health at Every Size framework. I do not encourage intentional weight loss in my clients regardless of their size, due to the scientific connection between dieting and eating disorders.
I have experience working with youth with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, as well as insulin resistance, to help manage chronic illness while addressing shame and disordered eating behaviors.
Eating disorder recovery
Disordered eating is often used as a coping tool in response to childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, gender exploration, or life stressors.
How we see food and exercise is influenced by the culture we live in, our family, friends, and what imagery we consume.
Healing disordered eating is a process, but is possible.
Harm reduction
Often we are not ready to completely stop behaviors that can harm us while we are learning new coping skills. I am comfortable discussing harm reduction strategies for substance use, disordered eating, and self-injurious behaviors when necessary, in a nonjudgmental way.
Approach
I believe that the most important aspect of a client-therapist relationship is that the client feels seen, heard, and acknowledged for who they are. I will adapt my practice to what you are hoping to accomplish for your own well-being, and in the event that we are not a good match or you want to explore elements outside of my professional scope, I will provide you referral information to connect with a therapist who is better suited to meet your needs. I encourage my clients to explore and experiment with a variety of therapeutic methods to see what works for each individual person. Some of those methods are:
Strengths-Based Therapy
Mindfulness
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Attachment-focused
Energy work
Nature-Based Coping Skills
Exposure therapy
Internal family systems
Brief solutions-focused therapy
Group peer support – coming soon!
Professional Experience
I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker regulated by Washington State (Credential Number LW61206586). I received my Master’s of Social Work from the University of Washington, focusing on working in health and mental health settings. In addition to my private practice, I currently work with both adult and pediatric populations, primarily providing crisis intervention and counseling skills in various inpatient and outpatient clinical settings.