“Without the bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance to the whole world?” Dogen

About Laurie

Laurie received her Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) in 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Pennsylvania.  She was Level I and II EMDR trained in 2014, and received her certification in EMDR in January 2017.  She completed the 100 hour MAPS MDMA Therapy Training training in the fall of 2021, and additional trainings with SoundMind, a training institute in Philadelphia. Once psilocybin, MDMA, and other medicines become legal for use with PTSD plans to pursue certification as a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapist.

Foundational to Laurie’s practice are principles of compassion, acceptance, and safety.  She values cultural competence, social justice, and an approach that is strengths-based, client-centered, and contextual in nature. Laurie believes that while symptoms such as anxiety or depression are often extremely painful, they are also the way our mind and body let us know that something is wrong. Getting help is an act of self-care, and is part of the journey towards wellness.

Laurie has worked in a variety of settings since finishing graduate school. She has worked with young children as a play therapist and worked with older adults as a group therapist. For several years, she was a treatment foster care social worker, visiting foster homes across Philadelphia and working with the biological parents of children who had been placed. She also worked as a clinical supervisor in Philadelphia, managed an outpatient clinic in Chester, and taught a graduate course for Temple University.

In her 25 years of post-graduate experience, Laurie has worked with people who present with a variety of symptoms and disorders, including severe depression, suicidality, anxiety, phobia, obsessive thinking, compulsive behavior, substance abuse, anger issues, dissociation, poor focus and disorganization, and so on.

One variable which occurs consistently undergirds the difficulties many people experience is unresolved traumatic exposure. Understanding what trauma actually is (and what it is not), how it impacts her clients, and how to treat it, continues to be one of the hallmark of Laurie’s practice. She additionally blends many approaches and theoretical models into her work, including, but not limited to: strengths-based therapy, relational therapy, systems theory, family systems theory, person-centered therapy, sand tray therapy, creative arts work, and evidence-based trauma therapies influenced and informed by EMDR, mindfulness, and ego state work.