About Laurel Connell, MFT

I can't imagine doing any other work in my life. I feel extremely honored when someone invites me in and trusts me enough to share in their most vulnerable moments.

I began my studies at Naropa University, a Tibetan Buddhist college in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. There I received an undergraduate degree in Contemplative Psychology, which incorporates Buddhist teachings, like meditation, with modern Western psychology. This enhanced my own personal meditation practice that I continue with to this day. This meditation practice only benefits and supports my work professionally as a therapist.

I went on to receive my Master’s degree from Antioch University in Santa Barbara, California. There I built on my experience of working with individuals at Anger Management, Domestic Violence Solutions, and Santa Barbara’s District Attorney’s Truancy program.

When I became a mother to two children, I began working part-time as a birth and postpartum doula, childbirth educator, and prenatal counselor. I found a love for working with women during this powerful time in life, crossing the threshold into parenthood.

I started to see that as wonderful as having a new baby could be, there are also aspects to this transition that are filled with grief, mourning, sadness, and confusion. This is part of a parent’s process that is so rarely talked about. I believe in bringing the whole of the experience to light- the joys, the grief, the fear, the struggles.

I began seeing the prevalence of pregnancy loss and the lack of support available to women grieving this loss. I decided to embrace the other end of life’s spectrum, into my work and began to focus on grief. I began working with local hospice organizations where I provided bereavement counseling to individuals, groups, and school-based counseling to adolescents, as well as moving on to be the Clinical Director of Bereavement

My approach is mindful, heart-centered, and remains open to the magic that can occur in each session with a client. I draw from the Polyvagal Theory and lean towards an integrative approach of working somatically with the body and the nervous system.  

Use this form to setup an initial appointment for either in-person or online counseling. Or, feel free to call at the number below.