About Lara

  • I strive to be a safe, non-judgmental, respectful, and compassionate presence. My approach is relational and supportive, grounded in deep listening. At the same time, I’m not afraid to gently challenge or bring in curiosity when it feels helpful to your growth.

    I hold a holistic, socially-conscious, and depth perspective, seeing each client as a whole, complex person—not as a set of symptoms or a diagnosis. Our work together honors your lived experience, inner strengths, and the broader context of your life.

  • I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Illinois and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in Minnesota.

    Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years working in the arts—primarily in community-based non-profits and higher education. This earlier path continues to inform my appreciation for creativity, expression, thinking symbolically, and recognizing the many ways people make meaning in their lives.

    I hold a master’s degree in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, a program rooted in contemplative Buddhist psychology and humanistic principles.

    My clinical experience includes work in private group practices, schools (as a school-based counselor and mindfulness instructor), and bereavement settings—including grief support roles in Boulder and with a Chicago-based hospice program.

    I have been engaged in meditation practice for over 20 years and am part of an international meditation community.

    I will graduate from a two-year Jungian Psychotherapy Program at the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago in June 2025, and I have completed Level I training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy.

  • These are dire times we live in, and I believe it’s important to hold the very real impact that collective energies have on our psyches and day to day lives. I believe in the importance of liberation psychology as well as orienting to the grief and loss we collectively need to process regarding impacts of climate change.

    • American Counseling Association

    • Illinois Counseling Association

    • Minnesota Counseling Association

    • C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago

    • Minnesota Jung Association

    • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute

    • MN LGBTQ+ Therapists Network