Laura Medlin, MA, LMFTA, Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist
“I love witnessing my clients discover strengths and resources they forgot they had and supporting their inherent ability to heal and grow through difficult experiences.”
About Me
I am a native of Nashville, Tennessee, where I cultivated a love of the outdoors and an appreciation for all kinds of music. I completed Bachelor’s degrees in both Psychology and Spanish at Furman University in South Carolina. After several years working with at-risk children and families, I moved to the Midwest to pursue graduate work in counseling and received my Master’s degree in Marriage & Family Therapy from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.
My professional experience includes work with a wide range of ages and backgrounds (from children to older adults) in several outpatient, non-profit, and faith-based mental health settings. I have specialized training in the areas of couples counseling, issues of trauma (EMDR), and pastoral counseling. I also have significant clinical experience working with individual women on mood disorders, relationship violence, grief, personal growth, and families experiencing difficult transitions. My experiences as a cancer survivor and a decade-long military spouse have also given me a heart for serving these two unique populations.
The Work I Do
My first priority is developing a strong working relationship with each person who comes into my office. No one is able to tackle problems and do the work necessary for lasting change when they do not feel safe or accepted for who they are. From this solid foundation, we can work together to bring about the changes you most want to see in yourself and your relationships. My passion is helping adults, couples, families, and adolescents better cope with life’s many hurts and challenges, resolve issues where they feel “stuck”, and ultimately develop more fulfilling relationships with self and others.
As a Marriage & Family Therapist (MFT), I view individuals and their concerns as part of the larger systems (e.g. families, friend networks, work situations, etc.) in which they live. In other words, problems do not develop in isolation and neither are lasting solutions developed apart from our most important relationships. We are always affecting and being affected by those around us. In fact, most concerns that people bring to therapy are either contributing to problems in their most significant relationships or being partially caused by them. The flip side is that our relationships are also the greatest source of our ultimate healing and well-being! With this in mind, I often invite clients to include important others in the therapy process where appropriate.
Couples Counseling
Most relationships that last for any significant length of time go through ups and downs and can benefit from the counseling process. My training as a MFT means I am knowledgeable about a number of different approaches for working successfully with couples, but I primarily draw from Pragmatic/Experiential Therapy for Couples (PET-C) and Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT). Both of these approaches acknowledge the powerful impact of our earliest relationships to “wire” our brains for intimate interactions and offer specific pathways for couples interested in reworking some of these programmed responses in more thoughtful and adaptive ways. Together, we will explore your current relationship concerns and level of functioning and create a personalized plan for achieving greater flexibility and mastery in your interactions with your partner. Often, it is necessary to meet with couples using some combination of individual and conjoint (both partners present) sessions to achieve the best outcomes. I welcome and enjoy working with couples of all ages, orientations and stages of their relationship.
EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing)
I have specialized training in the use of EMDR therapy for adults struggling with issues such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety & phobias, a history of abuse, and significant grief. An underlying principle of EMDR is that basic health resides within all of us. Symptoms can develop when events occur that temporarily overwhelm our resources for coping. These symptoms might take the form of flashbacks, persistent negative thought patterns, uncomfortable physical sensations, or a general feeling of anxiety. Over time, these symptoms can become “stuck” in both our memories and our physical bodies and contribute to the feeling that the negative events of the past are continually present with us. EMDR is a scientifically proven approach that helps people build up positive coping skills while resolving the negative impact of these past events. As a result, clients experience a lasting relief from their symptoms and report positive changes such as increased confidence, energy, focus, and a sense of wholeness. If you are interested in learning more about EMDR therapy, check out the EMDR International Association website or contact me for one of my brochures.
Pastoral Counseling
There is a growing recognition in both mental health and medical settings that people who actively use their faith perspective as a resource for promoting health and healing experience a greater sense of empowerment throughout the treatment process and achieve better overall outcomes. My graduate seminary training and post-graduate work at the Pastoral Institute emphasized all dimensions of health and healing, including the spiritual dimension. Working in this way means that I encourage you to consider how your own unique spiritual resources may be used or further developed to help create the positive outcomes you are seeking. If you are interested in exploring conversations about spirituality, I encourage you to make this known as we meet together for the first time. We can then discuss how to include these resources and practices as part of the treatment process.
Professional Affiliations
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (www.aamft.org)
EMDR International Association (www.emdria.org)