01 · Who Lauren works with

Lauren works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts

Lauren lists 19 specialisms and 22 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Lauren chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Lauren's own words

What Lauren says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

I know asking for help is not always the easiest thing to do and I seek to honor the effort it takes to stretch, grow, change and open yourself up in order to reach out. I love working with families, couples and individuals alike. I am a well seasoned therapist with over 25 years of experience helping others with many and varied challenges in their lives. As a Family Therapist, I believe life is all about relationships and connection and this gives me a unique and valuable perspective most individual therapists may not have. I have experience helping people recover from trauma, deal with grief and loss and restore broken relationships. I specialize in helping clients work toward life balance, working from wherever they are to get them to wherever they want to be. I am authentic, non-judgmental, honest, hilarious (or at least I think I am), and look forward to helping you on your journey.

I will be available to work with you on Monday through Friday (I take Saturdays and Sundays off) via live chat, asynchronous texting, phone or video. I often live and travel in my small motorhome in the West and Southwest so my time zone may be a bit different than yours, which can be an advantage. I grew up in California (please don't hold that against me as I left as soon as I could) and I have lived in WI, UT, AZ, GA and Alaska (at the Top of the World in Barrow).

I look forward to speaking with you.

Lauren Kelly, on the BetterHelp listing · read 7 Oct 2026

03 · How Lauren works

The 6 approaches Lauren lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Lauren lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Lauren's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Lauren runs a session.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

Internal Family SystemsIFS

Treats the mind as made up of parts - the critic, the one who withdraws, the one that keeps everything running - each of which is trying to protect you. The work is getting to know them rather than overruling them.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Lauren practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Lauren's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Lauren at this point.

2. Naming Lauren specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Lauren is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Lauren.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Lauren

Built from what Lauren actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Lauren's - Lauren has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Client-Centred Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 26 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMFT

Licensed in

Alaska

Licence

GA LMFT MFT001099, AK LMFT MFTM271

Licence number

MFTM271

Licence expires

31 Dec 2026

NPI

1245480326

Years in practice

26

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Lauren's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 7 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Lauren. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.