Hi, I’m Lara (She/Her).
What I do can’t be boiled down to one thing, though “Seasoned Practitioner” would be a good start. I’ve been trained as a Somatic Psychotherapist + Couples Counselor, a Coach, an energy worker, a yoga teacher, a spiritual practitioner, and I also mentor my clients. I have a variety of modalities under my belt and I bring whatever tools the moment calls for. I’ve been doing this work including facilitating groups since 2008 and I also teach and write.
I stand for quality and genuinely care about my clients. My empathy is real. I love what I do with my entire being and wouldn’t want to do anything else.
So I think if you’re going to trust someone with the depths of your inner world, they should really really love what they do, enough that you can feel it. And they should be seasoned and intelligent without being stuffy or moralizing.
You should be able to feel like they get you and genuinely care about you and that they know how to get you where you want to go. You can tell because instead of simply “Mm-hmm-ing” at you over a clipboard while you talk to yourself, they’ll actually offer input, guidance, and get productive with you because they’re engaged and all about your progress.
You’ll feel yourself progressing.
They’ll be honest with you about the road ahead and won’t shy away from telling it like it is, but they’ll do it with obvious compassion and an ability to help you get there. Not with the flowery, meaningless, overly optimistic language you see from influencers, but it’ll be grounded and it’ll be practical. Sometimes it’ll even be funny because we’ve gotta laugh too.
The very best practitioners know how to open up a space that’s bigger than they are, a place that helps you get in touch with a deeper guidance and truth, a place that feels both spiritual and transformational.
It’s appropriate to expect to feel connected and comfortable with your chosen support person, like there’s no judgment and like you could tell them anything. I invite you to expect to see change or feel better after even a single session (even while you’ll probably want to stick around longer because you’re making such exciting progress…because I think you should get even more out of it than you expected, too).
That’s what it’s like when it feels right and that’s what it’s like in my tiny therapy room.
I believe practitioners working with clients in a healing or support capacity must work from a ground of anti-oppression so as not to do harm but also because if this isn’t the place to work that then where is?
A seasoned practitioner will help you understand what you need and you’ll be able to feel like you’re moving towards it with each session. They’ll be willing to listen to you and accept feedback from you about what works for you. They’ll have healthy boundaries. There will be nuance, helpful distinctions, and magic. They’ll treat your relationship with respect. And that’s just it, it is a valuable relationship.
And again, I can’t stress this enough, you’ll feel like they care about you and it’s not just about the money to them.
So whether you choose to work with me or someone else, please know that the bar can be this high, you can feel better, and I invite you to look for someone you click with. (I also help mentor fellow practitioners to find their version of mastery too).
I really hope that if any of this resonates with you, you’ll stay in touch by joining my mailing list to receive my writings and updates about my offerings. You can do that below.
I hope you get what you need,