Lauren Barker, LCMHC, LPCC
Hi, I’m glad you’re here!
I’m Lauren, and I’m a licensed therapist in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Ohio. While I didn’t initially know that becoming a therapist would be my path, I’ve always wanted to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives and leave the world a little better than I found it. I’ve found deep purpose and fulfillment in pursuing that goal through the therapy space. Through a combination of lived experience and my work with clients, I have found particular passion in working with concerns like eating disorder recovery, disordered eating/body image, chronic illness, complex grief, and trauma.
I'm trained in Brainspotting for trauma work and deeper processing, and completed specific training in utilizing this approach via telehealth. I am also an Embodied Recovery Practitioner for eating disorder recovery and body image work, and am Health At Every Size-aligned.
I firmly believe that healthy relationships are healing, and this can start in therapy. I aim to always provide safety, connection, and attunement so that you have the space to get to the root of what's bringing you to therapy and make meaningful and lasting progress towards your goals.
You deserve to feel seen and valued. As your therapist I will validate and challenge you where appropriate—with a little humor mixed in! My approach is warm, inquisitive, evidence-based, and highly personalized. My goal is to create a relationship with my clients that is built on trust and hope, so that what feels heavy can be made lighter.
If this resonates with you, reach out and let's get started!
"What we don't need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human."
-Brene Brown
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You don’t have to explain away or justify what you’re struggling with or convince yourself that it’s “not bad enough” to deserve support. At Barker Counseling, therapy starts with understanding you—your experiences, your relationship with food and your body, the things that have shaped you, and what you want your life to look like moving forward. Rather than simply giving you coping skills and sending you on your way, therapy focuses on helping you understand the patterns keeping you stuck and develop practical tools for creating meaningful, lasting change.
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The “right therapist” is someone you feel comfortable being open and honest with, you feel safe around, and whose experience and approach fit what you want to work on. So ultimately, deciding whether a therapist is “right for you” has to be up to you! Not every therapist is the best fit for every client, nor should they be. You deserve a therapist whose unique approach and skillset aligns with the concerns you have, symptoms you’re experiencing, and goals you want to work towards in therapy. If you’d like to take the next step to see if we’re a match, a complimentary consultation call offers a simple, no-pressure opportunity to ask questions, share what you’re looking for, and decide whether working together feels right. You can request a time for a call here or fill out the contact form indicating you’d like to set up a call and I’ll reach out directly to you via email!
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We offer individual talk therapy for adults 18+, Brainspotting therapy, Brainspotting intensives, group therapy, intensives for parents of children with disordered eating concerns, and extended appointments as appropriate and applicable. You can find an overview of each of these services on our home page here.
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That’s completely okay and normal! No therapist can be the best fit for every single client, but communication is key. At Barker Counseling, we strongly value honesty in the therapeutic relationship—if something isn’t working for you or you need more/less of a certain thing, let’s talk about it! We want to support your self-advocacy and are happy to accommodate your needs wherever possible. If for some reason your therapist is not able to meet a need, our goal is to support your connection to another therapist or resource that can!
Working Together FAQ
Education:
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Queens University of Charlotte
Master’s Degree in Counseling with a concentration in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UNC Charlotte
Evidence-Based Modalities Used:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Polyvagal theory
Attachment-based Therapy
Somatic Therapy
Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT)
Brainspotting
Trainings:
Embodied Recovery Institute: Tier 1, 2021
Advanced Training in Somatic Experiencing & Polyvagal Therapy, 2021
Brainspotting: Tier 1, 2022; Tier 2, 2023
Attachment and Relational Therapy, 2023
Advanced Training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Trauma (Cognitive Processing Therapy and Trauma Focused CBT), 2024-2025
Licenses: