Creative, practical psychotherapy that promotes resilience
and helps you build the life you imagine
Lauren Gonzalez, MA, MFA, LMFT
Licensed in New York, California, New Jersey,
North Carolina and Pennsylvania
I earned my Master’s degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and take a client-centered, strengths-based approach focused on helping you identify and amplify your true self. My clinical training includes Schema Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and I provide DBT-informed individual therapy that integrates DBT skills within a personalized therapeutic framework.
My work is also deeply influenced by nature-based mindfulness and ecotherapy. Over many years, I have studied with teachers and organizations in the United States and internationally, exploring the relationship between psychological well-being, the natural world, and human connection. Alongside formal training, a lifelong curiosity about nature and exploring the natural world shapes my perspective and practice. I believe the small, seemingly insignificant moments in our life--what sparks interest, attention, emotion--lead us to the paths toward a feeling of authenticity, something many of us crave more and more in our stressful, information-saturated world.
Mindfulness has been a central part of my life since the mid-1990s and became a cornerstone of my graduate studies. I later taught and organized the children’s mindfulness program at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in Northern California, helping young people cultivate awareness through nature, meditation, and hands-on experiences.
I also hold an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Sarah Lawrence College and spent more than two decades working as a journalist, writer, editor, publisher, television host, and media producer in technology, entertainment, and the arts. This background allows me to connect particularly well with creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and those working in fast-paced, innovative fields.
I bring a strong appreciation for narrative, metaphor, creativity, and meaning-making to therapy. My professional experience in publishing, filmmaking, photography, editorial work, and in producing and distributing a holistic psychology journal inform my therapeutic style, which is both practical and imaginative.
To read more details about my training and philosophy, please visit My Focus and Training page.
Me Horseback Riding in
Sierra Madre
Among my influences, my beloved dachshund Yum Yum has taught me the power of dog mind; his single-minded pursuit to burrow into a weasel hole perfectly demonstrates both the How and the What skills of DBT Core Mindfulness.