Laura Clayton

Hello, I'm Laura Clayton, a Licensed Professional Counselor and the founder of Willow Tree Therapy Group. I am licensed in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida and have been helping individuals and couples navigate life's challenges since 2020.

I specialize in working with adults and older adolescents experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, grief and loss, ADHD, relationship concerns, life transitions, self-esteem challenges, and emotional overwhelm. I also enjoy supporting veterans, helping professionals, college students, and individuals who often feel responsible for everyone else's needs while struggling to care for themselves.

My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and tailored to each client's unique experiences and goals. I draw from evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Trauma-Focused CBT, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), mindfulness-based interventions, and psychodynamic principles. Together, we will work to understand patterns that may be keeping you stuck, develop practical coping strategies, and create meaningful, lasting change.

As the spouse of a military veteran, I have seen firsthand the impact that stress, trauma, transitions, and limited access to quality mental health care can have on individuals and families. Those experiences inspired my passion for creating a practice where people feel safe, supported, and genuinely understood.

I believe therapy should be a space where you can show up exactly as you are—without judgment, pressure, or the need to have everything figured out. Whether you're working through a difficult season, healing from past experiences, or striving for personal growth, my goal is to help you build insight, resilience, and confidence as you move toward the life you want to create.

My approach to therapy is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to the unique needs of each client. I believe that meaningful change happens when clients feel safe, understood, and empowered to explore their experiences without judgment. My role is not to tell you what to do, but to help you gain insight, develop effective coping strategies, and build confidence in your ability to navigate life's challenges.

I work from a trauma-informed perspective and recognize how past experiences, relationships, and life circumstances can influence current thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationship patterns. I integrate evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Trauma-Focused CBT, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), mindfulness-based interventions, and psychodynamic principles. This allows me to adapt treatment to each client's goals rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

I specialize in working with anxiety, depression, trauma and PTSD, ADHD, grief and loss, relationship concerns, life transitions, self-esteem issues, and emotional regulation difficulties. I also enjoy helping clients who struggle with perfectionism, people-pleasing, burnout, attachment wounds, and feeling overwhelmed by the demands of daily life.

In our work together, you can expect a balance of emotional processing, practical skill-building, and deeper exploration of patterns that may be keeping you stuck. Whether you're seeking healing from past experiences, improved relationships, or greater clarity and fulfillment in your life, therapy can be a space to better understand yourself and move toward meaningful, lasting change.

Clients can expect their first session to feel more like a conversation than an interrogation. My goal is to create a warm, supportive, and nonjudgmental environment where you feel comfortable sharing your story at your own pace. I understand that starting therapy can feel vulnerable, and I believe building trust is one of the most important parts of the process.

During our first session, we'll discuss what brings you to therapy, the challenges you're currently facing, and what you hope to gain from counseling. I'll ask questions about your background, relationships, mental health history, strengths, and any significant life experiences that may be impacting you today. You are always welcome to share only what feels comfortable; there is no pressure to discuss difficult experiences before you're ready.

Together, we'll begin identifying goals that are meaningful to you, whether that's reducing anxiety, improving relationships, processing trauma, navigating grief, managing ADHD symptoms, building self-confidence, or simply feeling more like yourself again. We'll also discuss what approaches may be most helpful based on your needs and preferences.

By the end of the first session, my hope is that you'll leave feeling heard, understood, and with a clearer sense of how therapy can support you moving forward. My goal is to help you feel less alone in what you're experiencing and confident that we have a plan for working toward meaningful change together.