About Laurie
Laurie Ann Pena offers straightforward support for people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, or addiction. She helps clients who are struggling with self-esteem, guilt, loneliness, and questions about life purpose. Laurie is a Licensed Professional Counselor, known as an LPC, working from Texas and speaking English.
She completed a Master of Science in Counseling with a specialization in Addictions at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi in 2015. Laurie has more than a decade of experience in the behavioral health field, and five years practicing as an LPC.
Background and approach
That mix gives her practical insight into both clinical care and real-world recovery challenges. In sessions she focuses on practical, everyday strategies. Clients work on building self-love, improving how they communicate, and handling mood changes.
Laurie emphasizes concrete coping skills for life transitions and recovery from addictive behaviors. She also pays attention to shame and guilt, helping people name those feelings and move past them. Treatment aims to increase confidence, reduce isolation, and create small, steady changes that add up over time.
Laurie approaches therapy as a collaborative process. She supports people as they challenge limiting beliefs, discover strengths, and set achievable goals. The tone is warm and nonjudgmental, with a focus on realistic steps toward feeling better.
Evidence-based approaches and flexible online care
Laurie works with evidence-based therapeutic techniques that focus on real-life skills. One common approach teaches practical coping strategies for managing anxiety and mood changes, such as breaking tasks into small steps and practicing breathing or grounding exercises to reduce overwhelm. This helps when stress or mood swings get in the way of daily life.Another key focus is recovery-oriented work for addictions and related patterns. These methods look at triggers, build relapse-prevention plans, and strengthen supports so people can make steady progress toward their goals. There is also attention to improving self-esteem and repairing communication habits so relationships and daily functioning improve.
Finding the right approach is collaborative. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped before. Together they choose techniques that feel manageable and adjust the plan as progress is made.
Online sessions use video calls, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video lets people read facial cues and have a closer therapeutic conversation, while phone calls can be easier when bandwidth is limited. Live chat and text-based messaging work for quick check-ins, brief reflections, or when someone prefers typing. These options make scheduling more flexible and help therapy fit into busy lives.
Questions people ask
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What this counselor works with
Most often
Also listed
- Experience
- 5 years
- Licensed
- Texas
- Languages
- English