Laura Gardner
she/her
- Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
LMFT 53622
Master of Arts, Counseling Psychology
I can work with you to heal your emotional pain as an experienced Marriage & Family Therapist with over 17 years of experience. These are the populations/issues I predominantly work with:
1. Individual adults struggling to overcome perfectionism.
2. Individual adults with complex trauma (growing up with challenging family/peer dynamics that are still impacting you).
3. Survivors of sexual assault, rape, and/or harassment.
4. Interracial and interfaith couples who need help communicating, and navigating differences (opposite or same sex couples).
5. Supervision with MFT Associates and PCC Associates who already have placements.
6. Consultation with licensed clinicians.
My areas of focus include relationship issues; perfectionism; compulsive behaviors (overeating, drinking, dieting, work, sex...); trauma (e.g. rape, abuse, car accidents...); couples (interracial and interfaith); and cross-cultural issues. I have a warm and direct style and whether you’re seeing me as an individual or as a couple, you will come away from our work with more choice and freedom in your life.
Passion for my work combines my interests in the body/mind connection, love of diverse cultures, and fascination with human nature. I love what I do and truly respect my clients' willingness to bring their inner world to the forefront. Let's talk so you can begin the journey to feel better.
I am licensed in both California and Oregon and am currently seeing people weekly or twice-weekly via video appointments. Using eclectic and holistic modalities, I include somatic, psycho-dynamic, gestalt, relational, mindfulness, and EMDR modalities in my work.
Passion for my work combines my interests in the body/mind connection, love of diverse cultures, and fascination with human nature. I love what I do and truly respect my clients' willingness to collaborate, commit to the process, and look inwards.
While my life and work experiences are varied and diverse, you may wonder what qualifies me to help you. I’ve been supporting individuals and couples in a private practice setting since 2006, and have been licensed in California since 2013, and in Oregon since 2021. My experience includes facilitating diversity and inclusion staff workshops at UC Berkeley; working with sexual assault survivors at Rape Trauma Services; and counseling children individually and in groups in a school setting. I am EMDRIA-certified in EMDR and have formally studied anatomy and massage, Ashtanga and Anusara yoga, and had a nearly 20-year career at UC Berkeley in various positions before and while I became a therapist.
With me, no topic is off limits! One of my mentors recalled this kernel of truth, "Trauma and injury happen in relationship, so healing has to happen in relationship as well." I like to add humor at times in sessions (only when it’s appropriate, of course), and our sessions will include some of the following:
-
- Body awareness
- Mindfulness and breathing
- Relatable stories
- Questions
- Art—like drawing
- EMDR
- Exploring your personal history
- In-the-moment observations
- Challenging negative beliefs
- Props like pillows and blankets
- Focusing on our interpersonal dynamics
- Or we'll just talk!
- Young Adult: 18-25
- Adults: 25-65
- Individuals
- Premarital Couples
- Couples
- Activists
- Artists
- First Responders
- Immigrants
- Interfaith Couples
- Men
- Persons Recovering from Domestic Violence
- Persons Recovering from Traumatic Events/Experiences
- Persons Struggling with/Recovering from Addiction
- Persons with Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse
- Persons with Histories of Physical or Emotional Abuse
- Women
Interracial Couples
- EMDR
- Experiential Therapy
- Humanistic Therapy
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
- Relational Psychotherapy
- Somatic Psychotherapy
- Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy
- Other:
I have a very strong conviction to create a more equal, just, inclusive, and diverse world. It’s important to me that we continuously fight racism, sexism, and discrimination of all kinds (especially given our current political climate). I’ve led diversity and inclusion trainings with UC Berkeley staff about privilege, mental illness, and unconscious bias, to name a few. My interest in diversity and inclusion comes from growing up in the Bay Area; having a bilingual education; working with ESL students, professors, and international executives; spending a lot of time in in the Caribbean and Europe; having queer and straight friends and clients; and being a great-grandchild of immigrants. I give either time or money to the National Museum of African-American History, the Humane Society, the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center, National Geographic, and various smaller nonprofits.
- Credit Card
$170
$120-$150
No
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California
Oregon
- Monday Afternoon
- Wednesday Afternoon
- Thursday Afternoon
Call or email to set up an appointment.
06/3/2023