Lauren Buroker LMFT

My personal experiences with mental health have impacted the way that I approach therapy - I firmly believe that each individual client is the expert on their own lives and that I am simply a person who is helping them to explore new ways to approach things. So often I learn just as much from my clients as I hope they learn from me!

I believe that the biggest current barrier is accessibility. That's why I believe that telehealth is one of the biggest steps forward that our profession has taken in the past few years, which has obviously been accelerated by the pandemic. It is also why offering a sliding scale fee is so important to me - I have been in a spot where therapy was something I desperately needed and was lucky enough to live in a space where there was a therapist who offered a fee that I was able to afford.

That therapy is more about wellness than anything else. Doctors, psychiatrists, and similar professions approach things from the medical model - in other words, that there is a problem and a solution. I believe that therapy is more about finding what has worked in the past and how we can change what is going on currently to make things work better in the future; there isn't inherently a problem, and people often come to therapy to improve their lives even if there isn't something "wrong".

• Florida, LMFT, MT4193

I have worked in many settings with children and their families, including an after school program, multiple high schools, a behaviorally focused school, and an inpatient hospital setting. I have also conducted many family, individual, and couples session in an outpatient therapy setting both at an agency and in private practice. I've developed the skills necessary to work with clients of all ages and backgrounds and I learn more with each session. Now I work largely with "emerging adults" - people in the 18-24 year range, often those who are trying to figure out what comes next in life. I use my own experiences with mental health to better understand how to approach issues effectively - I know what it's like to be the one on the other side of the room feeling overwhelmed or helpless, and I want to help people get to the point where they don't feel that way anymore!