Director, Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center

Therapy Approach:

“I have a passion for my work as a cognitive behavior therapist and schema therapist and helping my clients make lasting changes in their lives. I started the Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley / California because there is a lack of highly-trained cognitive behavior therapists delivering evidence-based CBT and I wanted to be able to help more people with this effective and scientifically-based approach. My counseling approach integrates cognitive behavior therapy, schema therapy and other evidence-based therapies with positive psychology. My focus on positive, strength-based counseling and therapy comes from both my training in positive psychology as well as my personal values that therapy (and life) is most satisfying when we look at what’s right.”

What Clients Say About Laura:

“I felt comfortable that Laura knows what she is doing and can help me solve my problems.” – Male, age 50, health anxiety, panic and anger management

“How Laura always finds ways for me to improve/move on. I am always afraid that we’ve reached a point where we have covered everything/can’t do anymore but she always finds new ways to help me.” – Female,  age 37,  OCD and health anxiety

“I really appreciate when you share small details about yourself – like how you are taking a class online. It helps me feel like I am not just talking at someone.” – Female, age 27, anxiety

“I was able to find the roots of my issues, which in turn will help me work to eliminate them more effectively.” – Male, age 16, depression

“Organized, concrete, direct, focused.” – Female, age 25, chronic skin picking

“The schema work has been very enlightening and I feel strongly that this work is what will help me understand myself and make changes.” – Female, age 61, depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse and binge eating

“How great Laura listened to what I had to say and how she understood me. She gave me great advice and the effort she put into the session rubbed off on me.” – Male, age 20, social anxiety and self-esteem issues

Laura’s Background

Laura has been in the mental health field since 2004 and has provided individual and group therapy to adults, children, teenagers and families since 2006. Laura is the only therapist in the United States who is both a Certified Cognitive Therapist with the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies and an Advanced Certified Schema Therapist with the Schema Therapy Society. Below are a few highlights of her qualifications and experience.

Education:

• MA, Santa Clara University, degree in Counseling Psychology with a focus on health psychology
• MBA, Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York City
• BA, University of Miami, major in Communication

Licenses:

• Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, California License No. LPCC-47
• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, California License No. LMFT-48807

Certifications and Credentials:

• Diplomate and Certified Cognitive Therapist of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies
• Advanced Certified Schema Therapist, International Society of Schema Therapy
• Graduate of the year-long CBT Extramural Program at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Completed three certificate programs in OCD treatment through the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania and the OCD Foundation’s Behavior Therapy Training Institutes (General BTTI and Pediatric BTTI)
• Completed Intensive Training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (9-month program), BehavioralTech, Seattle
• Completed Behavior Analysis Professional Development Program (18-month program from Jul 2013-Jan 2015) through Florida Institute of Technology

Clinical Experience:

• Founder and Director, Schema Therapy Center of California, 2016 to present
• Founder and Director, Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center of Silicon Valley / California, 2012 to present
• Founder and Director, Group Private Practice: Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center, Adult & Child Counseling, Inc. with two regional centers in Silicon Valley and Sacramento Valley from 2012 to 2021.
• Board of Directors, National Social Anxiety Center, 2015 to present
• Owner of private practice in San Jose focusing on anxiety, OCD and related problems, 2010-2012
• Board of Directors, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation of the San Francisco Bay Area, 2009-2011
• Private practice internship focusing on anxiety and eating disorders, 2009-2010
• Kaiser Permanente, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic in San Jose, 2008-2009
• YWCA of Silicon Valley, Outpatient Clinic, 2007-2008
• Willow Glen High School, On-site Counseling, 2007-2008
• Suicide & Crisis Services of Santa Clara County, 2007-2010
• Bill Wilson Center, Contact Cares, 2006-2007
• Department of Drug & Alcohol Services of Santa Clara County, 2006-2007

Prior Corporate Experience:

• Vice President, Director and Senior Manager positions in Corporate Philanthropy and Employee Volunteerism at Microsoft, Intuit and Countrywide Financial, 2000-2006
• Group Brand Manager, Brand Manager and Product Manager positions at Intuit, Royal Caribbean, Wells Fargo Bank, VISA and AT&T, 1990-2000

Clinical Activities:

• Schema Therapy Consultation Group for Trauma with Robin Spiro, LCSW, 2021
• Schema Therapy Individual Supervision with Jeff Conway, LCSW and Liz Lacy, LCSW, 2015-2017
• CBT Individual Consultation, Michael Tompkins, PhD, San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy, Nov 2014-present (working on certification as a CBT Trainer/Supervisor)
• Exposure and Response Prevention for OCD Individual Supervision with Elna Yadin, PhD, Jul-Oct 2014
• Behavior Analysis/Behavior Therapy Individual Supervision with Ruth Anan, PhD, BCBA-D, Jun 2013-Nov 2014
• CBT Individual Case Consultation with Christine Padesky, PhD, Jan 2012-May 2013
• DBT Individual Supervision with Shari Manning, PhD, Aug-Dec 2011
• Weekly Individual CBT Supervision with Shelley Milestone, PhD, Oct 2010-Oct 2011
• Weekly TEAM Therapy Training Group at Stanford University led by David Burns, MD (best-selling author of Feeling Good), Jill Levitt, PhD, and Matthew May, PhD, Sept 2010-Nov 2011

Advanced Training:

• EMDR Institute, 2021-2022 (certification in progress).
• Summer Seminars: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Clinical State of the Art, Harvard Medical School Continuing Education, Jul 2020.
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Depression and Anxiety Disorders training with Russ Harris, Apr-Jul 2020.
• Advanced Intensive Schema Therapy Certification Program, Schema Therapy Institutes of New York and New Jersey, 2015-2017
• University of California, Berkeley, Evidence-Based Therapy for Anxiety and Mood Disorders Certificate Program
• Radically-Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy training, a new approach to helping individuals with problems of over-control, Jan 2015
• Schema Therapy Workshop, New Jersey Institute for Schema Therapy, Oct 2014
• Intensive Training in Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, University of Pennsylvania, Jul 2014
• SENG Annual Conference, Social and Emotional Needs of the Gifted, Jul 2014
• OCD Foundation’s Pediatric Behavior Therapy Training Institute at Rogers Memorial Hospital, Sep 2013-Apr 2014 (first-ever pediatric behavior therapy training institute)
• Teaching and Supervising CBT, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Jun 2013
• Anxiety and Depression Association of America ADAA  annual conference, Apr 2013
• OCD Foundation’s Behavior Therapy Training Institute, Jan-May 2012
• International OCD Foundation annual conference, 2010, 2011 and 2012
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) Three-Day Workshop, Michael Perlis, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, workshop held in Baltimore, MD (2012).
• Extramural Program, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia, 2010-2011 (year-long intensive training in CBT for anxiety disorders, depression and personality disorders)
• Cognitive Therapy Week-Long Intensive Training with David Burns, MD, Aug 2010
• Summit for Clinical Excellence, Advanced Treatments for Eating Disorders, 2009
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) 9-Month Intensive Training, Behavioral Tech, Seattle, Jun 2007-Feb 2008
• Eating Disorders courses at JFK University, Campbell/Pleasant Hill
• Evolution of Psychotherapy conference, 2005 and 2009
• Career Counseling course, California State University, Northridge, 2004

Business Experience:

Laura has a unique background as a psychotherapist with a Columbia MBA and hands-on management experience in the corporate world. Prior to becoming a therapist, Laura had a successful career in the corporate world for over 16 years. She held managerial roles in marketing, brand and product management, and corporate philanthropy at Fortune 500 companies in the technology, financial services and travel industries in the Bay Area and on the East Coast, including Microsoft, Intuit, Wells Fargo Bank and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. This has given her an insider’s view into how a demanding work environment affects a high-achieving person’s emotional and physical health.

Special Areas of Interest:

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy for symptom reduction of Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders in adults, children and teens with special interest in OCD and Social Anxiety disorders
• Schema Therapy to encourage personality change and address underlying personality issues to improve CBT treatment effectiveness and reduce vulnerability to relapse of anxiety and depression symptoms as well as treatment of avoidant, dependent, obsessive compulsive (extreme perfectionism), narcissistic and borderline personality disorders
• Gifted and talented children and adults with generalized anxiety, social anxiety, stress, perfectionism and over-achievement
• High-achieving business professionals and executives with generalized anxiety, social/performance anxiety, perfectionism and stress

Additional Interest Areas:

• Health anxiety, phobias, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, hair pulling, skin picking, body dysmorphic disorder and depression

Treatment Approaches:

• Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Exposure & Response Prevention, Schema Therapy

Personal Interests:

Laura grew up in Miami, FL, has lived in San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles and lived in the Silicon Valley from 2000 to 2019. Laura now lives in a beautiful small town in the Sierra Foothills about midway between Sacramento and North Lake Tahoe. Everyday feels like a vacation. Laura is a mom to two adopted daughters whom she adopted when they were 5 and 8. This has taught Laura the importance of meeting a child’s emotional needs to form a secure attachment. Laura enjoys long walks with her family and dogs, yoga, skiing, camping, horseback riding, reading, playing with her pets including her Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (Rusty, Moon and Noelle) and her cats (Sunny, Sammy and Snowy), movies, hanging out with her husband and daughters, traveling and learning even more about cognitive behavior therapy schema therapy (yes, she’s a bit “obsessed” with her work!). Learn more about Laura and her personal journey of becoming a therapist.