About Me
Hi, I’m Laura
I wisely listen to and partner with you to guide you on a transformational journey in resorting your sense of self after complex trauma.
My Job:
My job is to understand you better than you understand yourself. When people experience trauma, their protective systems go into overdrive so that your system can feel safe again.
While this is often what makes you survive during the trauma, afterwards it can wreak havoc on your nervous system and create other problems, which is why you are coming to therapy.
Our work will start with exploring and understanding your protective system and its parts and begin getting it back to a place of neutrality.
More
About Me:
After being a full-time professor for 8 years and teaching about how to work with traumatized systems, I deeply missed actually helping the clients that are the entire reason I went into this field.
My superpower is finding the themes and threads that weave your life together, and help reintegrate and repair the ones that were harmed.
Even though most of my time is spent doing individual therapy, I absolutely love training and guiding other therapists in their journey to learn the art and practice of Internal Family Systems (IFS). My years of teaching in higher education provide a solid foundation for knowing how to not just impart knowledge and wisdom, but also how to create experiential learning opportunities and be a learner alongside those I teach.
Outside of Work:
I am a wife to my husband of 17 years, a mom to four kids, and an avid ultrarunner. I thrive being outside and connecting with the quiet stillness that nature provides, probably because a house with four kids is one that is a special kind of organized chaos.
Specialties:
Trauma
Betrayal Trauma
Traumatic loss
Helping a loved one or partner who experienced trauma
Those left behind by suicide
Education & Experience
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Texas with over 18 years of experience in the field. I am level one in Internal Family Systems (IFS) training and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) training. I am currently in the multi-year process of being certified in both IFS and EMDR.
Prior to working in full-time private practice, I taught full-time in social work programs at the bachelor’s and master’s level as well as serving as Director of Field Education and Program Director.
I also have experience working with veterans and training providers on working with survivors of sex trafficking. I have my Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Baylor University and my Master’s degree in social work from the top-rated Washington University in St. Louis.
Professional Presentations & Interviews
2024
Presenter at NASW Texas Conference
Field Education Survival Workshop
NASW Minnesota Chapter CEU
Secrets of Successful Supervision
Ethical Integration of Spirituality in Practice
C. J. Collins Field Instructor Symposium
Keynote: Secrets of Successful Field Education Experiences
2023
Presenter at NASW Texas Conference
Ethical Integration of Spirituality in Practice
2022
Presenter at National Association of Christian Social Workers National Conference
Ethical Integration of Faith and Spirituality in Practice
2019
Presenter at St. Margaret of Scotland Seeds of Justice: Human Trafficking Awareness Event
2018
Presenter at St. Louis Field Education Collaborative Session #1
2016
St. Louis Public Radio Interview
“Manners never go out of style: Why it’s still cool to care about etiquette”
Speaker at Baccalaureate Program Directors National Conference
Developing a Professional Self: How Etiquette Can Teach Social Work Competencies
Speaker at National Association of Social Workers Missouri Chapter Conference
Etiquette and Social Work
2015
Speaker at SLIAC Symposium: From Playing the Field to Professional World
Meeting and Meal Etiquette
St. Louis Public Radio Interview
Veterans court provides help for post-service problems
2008
Speaker at National CASA Association National Conference
Spoke about developing and cultivating donor relations, soliciting grants from local foundations and corporations and diversifying an organization’s funding base.
2007
Speaker at Bread For the World’s National Conference
Spoke at break-out session about experiences with urban farming and how low-income communities can come together to combat hunger.
Things I'm Into:
Being obnoxiously loud cheering for my kids’ at their sports events
Making any recipe gluten free (fried pickles are my current obsession)
Training for my next trail ultramarathon
Scoping out the next camping spot for my family
Drinking more Waterloo and tea than water