Lauren McKay

I hold a Master’s degree in Counseling and have over 10 years of experience in mental health. I began my career in hospital and residential settings before moving into private practice, and those experiences shaped my ability to stay grounded, compassionate, and comfortable with complexity.

My approach to therapy is warm, collaborative, and practical. I believe meaningful change often comes from understanding the patterns we’ve developed, approaching ourselves with greater curiosity and compassion, and finding new ways of responding that feel authentic and sustainable. I balance deeper reflection with practical tools and direct feedback when it’s helpful.

I especially value working with people who may have spent a long time trying to understand themselves, adapting to others’ expectations, or feeling as though traditional approaches haven’t quite fit. My goal isn’t to tell you who to be or what choices to make, but to help you better understand yourself, strengthen trust in your own experience, and build a life that feels more workable and genuinely yours.

At the heart of my work are three things: insight, self-compassion, and agency.

My approach to therapy is collaborative, relational, and active. I won’t simply listen without offering feedback, but I also won’t tell you how to live your life. I balance listening and validation with thoughtful questions, practical strategies, honest feedback, and gentle challenge. We may not always agree, and that’s okay—the work is something we do together.

We can focus on what’s happening in your life today while also looking beneath the immediate concern to understand the patterns that may be shaping it. This might include exploring relationships and past experiences, beliefs you’ve developed about yourself or others, emotions that are difficult to understand or express, and the ways you’ve learned to respond to stress.

I believe insight is important, but therapy also involves trying things differently. That may mean practicing new ways of responding, communicating, setting boundaries, relating to yourself, or navigating difficult emotions. I tailor our work to you rather than expecting you to fit into one particular way of doing therapy.

Our first session is a chance for us to get to know one another and begin making sense of what brings you to therapy. I tend to be fairly thorough, so I’ll ask questions about what’s happening in your life now as well as the experiences, relationships, health, strengths, and supports that have shaped you. There’s no pressure to know exactly where to start or to tell your whole story perfectly—I’ll help guide the conversation. By the end, we’ll begin identifying what feels most important to you and where we might start together.