Lauren Burling
Please note I specialize in working with individuals and their caregivers on issues surrounding serious illness, fertility/infertility, onco-survivorship, and postpartum support and am accepting new clients with these concerns. We all have fundamental needs: To belong, to feel understood, to give and receive love, to feel financially secure, to be free from pain. My approach to therapy begins with addressing the impetus that led to scheduling that first appointment, to then addressing core basic needs like sleep, nutrition and social connections. We will work to develop an awareness into emotional states and behaviors that arise out of them. Sometimes, it is the actions of others that are the primary source of our own distress. Even then, we can focus on what is in our control to improve our coping and circumstances.
My biggest strength as a provider is in providing concrete tools to encourage you in improving your current circumstances, while developing frameworks for long-term coping strategies.
First session
It is important to note that we may not cover every concern in our first session together - and that an intake session can travel over as many as the first 3-5 sessions. I will invite you to give a brief overview of your story, present challenges and any recent events in your life that led you to schedule a therapy session, relationships of importance, and any history of mental healthcare you have received that would be helpful for me to know to better understand where you are coming from.
Strengths
My biggest strength as a provider is in providing concrete tools to encourage you in improving your current circumstances, while developing frameworks for long-term coping strategies. I also am a human being with many shared experiences which inform my work as a therapist.
Ideal clients
Please carefully note my primary areas of practice include serious illness, fertility/infertility, onco-survivorship and postpartum support. I do not work with couples. I have advanced education and experience working with adults and caregivers facing serious illness, navigating complex healthcare systems and supporting caregivers as they walk alongside their loved ones. I also have expertise supporting individuals and families with family planning including adoption, IUI/IVF, intentional single parenting, and foster care. Finally, I am also skilled in working with individuals experiencing episodes of depression or anxiety that are significantly impacting their daily lives.
Treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
In ACT, we dispel the myth that happiness is necessarily our "goal" in life. In this modality, we accept that hard things will happen and commit to living a meaningful life regardless.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT teaches us that everything in life has an opposite, and that things that oppose each other can also both be true. Thinking dialectically is a helpful practice in unlearning certain patterns of thinking that are unhelpful or leaving us feeling stuck. DBT offers concrete tools to tolerate distressing emotions and to communicate better in our relationships.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness is an important foundation of many cognitive behavioral techniques. Mindfulness helps us become aware of our thoughts and feelings, without the added judgement we are so often making about our feelings being good or bad, right or wrong. Mindfulness is often the first step in learning how to cope more effectively with difficult emotions.
Location
Virtual sessions
Identifies as
Top specialties
Other specialties
Serves
Doesn't specialize in
Licensed in
- ConnecticutLicense 58.015171
- New YorkLicense 093988
- PennsylvaniaLicense CW020273