Welcome!

My name is Lauren (she/her) and I support fellow LGBTQIA+ folks and people with chronic illnesses. I’ve been providing therapy services since 2018. My intention is to help you navigate stressors, celebrate your most authentic self, and feel more empowered in your daily life.

Background

In my early twenties, I spent three years on bed rest while recovering from an unexpected musculoskeletal trauma. This chapter involved a lot of pain and uncertainty. To cope, I frequently read about contemplative traditions, psychology, integrative medicine, and sociopolitical issues. I also learned how to embrace solitude and find calm in the small moments. It took me a little while to fully understand that my grief and my joy could coexist. Once on the other side of significant healing, I pursued a degree in clinical social work. I’ve since supported clients in private practice, a hospital setting, and community mental health clinics. Candidly, it has required a great deal of patience and pacing to gain this experience. The process of completing licensure is bureaucratic and ableist, which makes it difficult to enter the field as a chronically ill therapist. I’m grateful to be here! And I’m grateful that I can now draw from a combination of professional training and personal insight. Ultimately, I hope to provide you with thoughtful guidance and reliable, compassionate care.

Social Locations

I identify as white, queer, millennial-aged, and disabled. I’m hypermobile (EDS, POTS, MCAS) with chronic pain and some neurodivergent traits. I’ve experienced my disability in ways that are dynamic, visible, and invisible. I’ve had access to education and have experienced both class privilege and financial hardship. I would currently describe myself as spiritual. My personal interests include contemplative practices, gardening, snowshoeing, and astrology.

Education

Columbia University in New York: MSW with a specialization in Advance Clinical Practice and a focus in Health, Mental Health, and Disabilities.

Middlebury College in Vermont: BA with a major in English Literature and a minor in Environmental Studies.

Clinical Training

UCSF Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA: Pediatric hospital providing inpatient and outpatient care. I contributed as a medical social worker at the endocrinology clinic.

Center for Mindful Psychotherapy in San Francisco, CA: Nonprofit organization focusing on holistic and mindful approaches to therapy. I supported queer and disabled clients via telehealth.

Pacific Center in Berkeley, CA: LGBTQIA+ community mental health clinic providing sliding-scale psychodynamic therapy services. I worked with individuals and groups re: grief and chronic illness.

Liberation Institute in San Francisco, CA: Grassroots organization prioritizing access to care and centering liberation psychology. I provided weekly therapy services for queer and trans folks.

Values

I’m invested in the struggle for intersectional equity and collective liberation. I believe in interdependence, indigenous sovereignty, reparations, reproductive justice, trans joy, health at every size, covid consciousness, disability justice, and community care. I recognize that all licensed mental health clinicians are currently practicing within a broken capitalist system and harmful medical industrial complex. I’m committed to the ongoing work of examining my role, resisting oppressive approaches to care, and centering the voices of those most marginalized. I’m not okay with medical gaslighting, gatekeeping, policing, or upholding ideals that are rooted in white supremacy and cisheteropatriarchy. I plan to continue unlearning alongside colleagues with similar perspectives.