Leg four · The guide
Now accepting new clients · evening and weekend hours available
Dr. Lauren Thaxter
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Commonwealth of Virginia. Doctorate from the University of Mississippi, APA-accredited internship at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System.
A lot of the people I work with are not in crisis. They have been carrying something for a long time, they have gotten good at carrying it, and they are starting to feel the weight.
My training is in evidence-based treatment, and I draw on it throughout. But I don’t believe there is one protocol that fits everyone who walks in. What I try to do is understand what’s really going on for you, be honest about what I think would help, and then do that work with you, not at you.
If we work together individually, it starts with a full conversation about your history and what you’re hoping will be different, before any course of treatment begins. My groups you can simply join, whenever you’re ready.
Background and training
Dr. Thaxter earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Mississippi, where her research explored the role of social support in individuals living with chronic pain. She completed her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship in Health Service Psychology at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System in Long Beach, California, with rotations that included the Women’s Mental Health Clinic, Primary Care Mental Health Integration, and Medical Psychology.
She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Commonwealth of Virginia, license #0810009520.
Her approach, and what it draws on
Dr. Thaxter provides individual therapy to adults, and these are the approaches the practice is built on: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), in which she trained through the VA and for which she is a listed provider on the national CPT Provider Roster maintained by the treatment’s developers. Rather than fitting every person to one protocol, she draws on whichever of these suits the work in front of her, and often on more than one.
Her approach is strengths-based and collaborative, shaped to each person’s needs, values, and goals. She has experience across anxiety, mood disorders, trauma, and chronic pain, and she works to make therapy a place where people feel understood and make real progress.
Outside of work, Dr. Thaxter enjoys playing tennis, going on walks, and spending time with her husband and daughter.
A note on the name
Dèyè mòn, gen mòn is a Haitian proverb. Literally: beyond mountains, there are mountains. You cross one and another appears.
I chose it because it is true, and because it says what therapy is for. The mountains do not get smaller and the range does not end. What changes is the climber. The work here is about building the skills to handle whatever comes next: steadier footing, better tools, and the knowledge that you have crossed hard ground before and can do it again.
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.