Therapist in New Hyde Park, NY Laura Baden, Therapist

Laura Baden has a Master’s degree and license in Mental Health Counseling, which she earned from Baruch College in Manhattan. Laura has worked within multiple settings, prior to LifeStance Health she had worked in another private practice, a forensic clinic, a foster care agency, and 2 schools . During her time within these settings, Laura had developed skills which led her to become skilled working with all ages, with focuses on trauma, sex/sexuality, parenting/child behavior, and relationships. Laura has worked with several mental health concerns with adults including anxiety, depression, grief, and stress management. Additionally, she has worked with children and adolescents to address anger management, emotional regulation, and behavioral trouble during her time working with a mentorship agency partnering with schools and working within the private practice setting. Laura also had spent time teaching sex education, and using her knowledge of sexuality has helped some of her clients explore and understand more about sexuality individually or within intimate relationships. Some of the work she’s done with clients regarding sexuality include sexual orientation, gender transitioning, fetishism, improving sexual health, sexual dysfunction, and distress regarding sexuality.

Laura always felt her biggest gift was in her ability to listen and reach to understand another’s world through their eyes. It led her to become the therapist she is today, and continues to lead her to connecting with her clients more than she could ever imagine. When she came to learn about what it took to become a therapist, she naturally connected with providing therapy with an integrated theoretical perspective. She uses a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, as it’s been shown to be effective in treating clients for whatever is presently troubling them. All while the present issues are being addressed through these techniques, she also explores the past and development of the presenting problem to further process and work on more root or underlying maladaptive beliefs or behaviors. From the psychodynamic perspective, She’s able to challenge how the problem came to be, in order to break through the surface of just the symptoms or complications alone. She believes the best way to ensure a problem is solved, or a change remains in place, is to ensure you’ve resolved what caused the initial problem to start with. Using a combination of these two approaches, She is confident in that her clients’ progress and sees the changes they’re looking to achieve, while ensuring they have a space they can feel safe, advocate for themselves confidently, feel free from judgement, and can express themselves fully.

Being a therapist has shaped Laura into the person she is now. She’d come from a childhood where she was brought up by her mother alone, who struggled to provide for her and her sibling. She persevered through the financial struggles and limited opportunities she had growing up in order to achieve her degrees and cope with all that set her back. Despite the struggles she faced, she grew up watching films, listening to music, and diving into hobbies which always encouraged her to follow her dreams and to beat the odds no matter how impossible it can seem; they taught her that there’s always hope. This way of thinking fueled her motivation to become the therapist she is; To listen to the stories of each person she’s connected with and challenge them to help them become the best version of themselves they can be.