Leg one · The trailhead
Now accepting new clients · evening and weekend hours available
Beyond mountains, more mountains.
There is a Haitian proverb, usually said with a sigh: beyond mountains, more mountains. You get over one and the next is waiting. It is an honest way to describe a life. Therapy does not make the mountains disappear. It gives you the skills to climb the next one, whatever it turns out to be.
Lauren Thaxter, Ph.D. · Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia #0810009520 · Telehealth statewide
Every session is a live, one-on-one conversation with Dr. Thaxter over secure telehealth. Doctoral-level care, an APA-accredited internship in the VA system, and a listed provider on the national CPT Provider Roster. Also on Psychology Today.
What therapy actually changes
The mountains don’t get smaller.
Most people arrive hoping they will, and that is a fair thing to hope for. What therapy changes is you. The ground stays the same; you get better at crossing it. The navy line is what you can handle. It starts low. As you pick up skills along the trail, it rises to meet the peaks.
The six mountains below are ones most people meet at some point. Tap one to see what stays the same, what tends to ease, and what helps.
Tap a mountain to see what stays, what eases, and what helps.
Something you can’t stop replaying
What happened, and that it happened.
The replaying, the jumpiness, the guilt, and the distance from the people you love.
Cognitive Processing Therapy
A body that stopped cooperating
The condition itself.
The bracing, the dread of the next flare, and the fight with your own body.
CBT for chronic pain, ACT
A relationship wearing thin
The other person.
The reactivity, the old pattern you both fall into, and the things said in anger.
DBT skills, CBT
Work that took more than it gave
The job, and what it took.
The dread of Monday, the flatness, and the question of who you are without it.
ACT, CBT
A new baby, and not feeling like yourself
The baby, and everything a baby asks of you.
The intrusive thoughts, the worry that will not switch off, and the guilt about not feeling how you expected to.
CBT, the postpartum moms group
Losing someone
The loss. Grief itself isn’t something therapy tries to take away.
The guilt tangled into it, the avoidance, and the parts of your life you have stopped visiting.
ACT, CPT
Who comes here
Usually not in a crisis. Usually tired of carrying it alone.
“I’ve been managing it for years. I’m not sure it’s working anymore.”
“Something happened a long time ago and I still plan my life around it.”
“I’m good at my job and I’m running on empty.”
“I love my baby and I haven’t felt like myself since she was born.”
“The pain is real, and I’m tired of being told it’s in my head.”
“I don’t sleep, and everything is harder because of it.”
If any of that sounds familiar, it is reason enough to reach out. You do not need a diagnosis to start, and you do not need to have it figured out. That part is the work.
If you hold a clearance
Many of the people Dr. Thaxter works with do. Seeking care is common in the cleared community and is generally seen as a sign of good judgment. She is glad to talk through any questions at intake. For anything specific to your own situation, ask your security officer or check the official guidance rather than a website.
How it works
Three ways in.
If you are not sure this is the right place, start with a free 15-minute consultation: a short, live call with Dr. Thaxter over telehealth about what is going on and what might help. No paperwork, no charge. Individual therapy begins with an intake, which is a long, unhurried conversation; the plan comes out of that conversation. Groups you can simply join, with no intake and no waiting.
The one exception is the trauma skills group, which starts with an intake so Dr. Thaxter can make sure it suits you.
Start with a free consultation
Fifteen minutes face to face with Dr. Thaxter over telehealth, at a time you pick from her calendar. You say what is going on, she says what she thinks would help, and you decide whether to go further. Nothing to fill in first.
Route one: individual therapy
Request an intake in the client portal (it takes about two minutes), complete your paperwork there, and pick a time that suits you. The intake runs 60 to 90 minutes and is where individual therapy begins.
Route two: join a group
Pick the group that fits, complete the paperwork in the portal, and come along. That’s all there is to it.
The work, chosen to fit
Dr. Thaxter draws on several evidence-based approaches and suggests what she thinks will help. Some people do well with a structured protocol; others need something more flexible. You’ll review the plan together as you go, and it can change.
Groups
Some work goes deeper with other people in the room.
Alongside individual therapy, Dr. Thaxter runs structured groups: Cognitive Processing Therapy, a trauma skills group, DBT skills for managing emotions, a postpartum moms group, CBT for chronic pain, CBT for insomnia, and Mindful Self-Compassion. Each one is a structured, evidence-based program with a beginning and an end, and you can enroll directly. Sessions are $50 an hour or $75 for 90 minutes, billed as you go.
Why telehealth
No office. No waiting room. No drive.
Telehealth is not a lesser version of therapy. For the approaches used here, the research puts it on par with in-person care. For a lot of people it is what makes weekly therapy possible.
Your own room
You start the session somewhere comfortable and you are still there when it ends. No lobby to walk back through while you collect yourself.
Nobody sees you go
No parking lot, no reception desk, no colleague in the waiting room. If privacy matters in your work, that counts for a lot.
The commute is zero
An hour each way on I-66 or I-95 is why a lot of people in Northern Virginia stop going. Take that away and the weekly slot is easy to keep.
Continuity when life moves
A move within Virginia, a new job, a new baby. Your therapist stays the same when the rest of life changes.
Rates
Stated plainly, so there’s one less thing to wonder about.
Sessions are private pay. A monthly superbill is provided for out-of-network reimbursement, and Dr. Thaxter will help you check your benefits before you commit to anything. HSA and FSA cards work. A written Good Faith Estimate is provided before the first appointment.
Why private pay: your treatment plan stays between you and Dr. Thaxter. No diagnosis goes to an insurer to justify continuing care, and the two of you decide how long the work takes.
Every approach used here is evidence-based: tested in clinical trials, shown to work, and delivered the way it was designed. That is a large part of why the work tends to lead somewhere. For Cognitive Processing Therapy, Dr. Thaxter completed the training and consultation the developers require and is listed on the national CPT Provider Roster.
You don’t have to have it figured out to start.
Not sure where to start? Book a free 15-minute consultation with Dr. Thaxter: a short, live call over telehealth about what is going on and whether this is the right place, with no paperwork and no charge. When you are ready, the same button lets you book an intake for individual therapy or enroll in a group. Everything runs through the secure client portal, and the first step takes about two minutes. If you would rather talk first, call (571) 206-0096 or send a message.