Meet The Therapist: Lauren Yearego (Part 2)

In my last post, “Meet The Therapist (Part 1)” you got a little snippet of who I am in my day-to-day life. So in today’s post I want to continue folding back the curtain to answer some questions you may have about who I am as a therapist and how I got to be where I am today. 

As I started to share with you in the last post, my dream to work with kids began a long time ago when I was 6-year old determined to become a first grade teacher. From a young age, I did my best to tailor every experience to somehow become better equipped to reach this goal of mine, which led me through a rollercoaster of job experiences; starting with being a “mother’s helper” in my early teenage years; to babysitting and nannying (which were THE BEST high school and college jobs!); to working at Gymboree Play & Music, creating lesson plans that I had to sing to parents and their kids (this ideally would’ve been a great job, but I learned early on that I was not called to be a singer and it was 10 times more embarrassing having to sing to a room full of adults). From there, I landed a job at a gym daycare that I kept for most of college while also juggling school work and nannying. 

I studied Psychology and Family Studies throughout my undergraduate program and then went on to Graduate school where I received my Master’s in Counseling. Throughout this time, I always  knew I wanted to counsel kids and adolescents, but I wasn’t sure what exactly that would look like or what that meant. When it came time to find an internship, my internship coordinator recommended I gain experience at Care House in Macomb County, working specifically with children and families who had endured significant trauma. To be honest, at this point, I really took a step back and asked myself, “Am I cut out for this?” because it was scary, new, and something I had never considered. I took a couple weeks to reflect and evaluate if this was the route I wanted to go and by the end of those two weeks I decided if there was any time to figure it out, it was at an internship. I remember being so nervous my first week on the job because I was afraid of making a mistake or saying the wrong thing, but as time went on, and I learned more and counseled more, I became more confident in myself as a counselor and determined this is what I wanted to do for a long time. 

While still completing my internship, I was offered a position as the Clinical Coordinator and Therapist at the Lapeer Advocacy Center where I spent several years helping to build the counseling program while working with the kids and families in Lapeer County.  Throughout my time at the Advocacy Center, I realized I couldn’t imagine working with any other population; I loved counseling the kids and looked forward to seeing the families each day. 

This past January, my dream of having my own practice came to fruition and I started Yearego Professional Counseling in Lake Orion to better serve the families in my community. Since that time, I have transitioned out of the Lapeer Advocacy Center and am now working full-time at Yearego P.C., working primarily with kids and teens, but also several adults.  

All that being said, for those who don’t know me as a therapist or don’t know me at all, here’s a glimpse into who I am as a therapist and what I believe:  

1)   I Believe in Being a Real Person Who Acts Like a Real Person

This may sound obvious or cliché, but I think it’s important for everyone to know that when I meet with my clients, I’m not some robot spewing off textbook answers. I’m a trained professional who has learned a lot about trauma, children, parenting, and human behaviors, but that doesn’t make me any less personal or more robotic. I enjoy helping and educating my clients, but I believe that’s best done through authentic conversation and laughter; or when it comes to kids, getting down to their level and talking about the silly things like Minecraft or Fortnight. 

2)   I Believe in Educating my Clients

I’ve never found it beneficial to try and trick my clients into learning something or waving some magical therapy wand to help them feel better. I’m pretty up front and blunt, and if I’m trying to teach you something, I’ll explain what it is, how it works, and why it works.  Even when I work with kids, I teach them the big words like “coping skills,” “mindfulness,” “progressive muscle relaxation,” “anxiety,” and “dysregulation.” I’ll typically give them a word or phrase that might be easier to remember, but this is always in addition to the technical term because I want them to know and understand what it means.

3)   I Believe in Getting Down to Their Level  

If you were to walk into my office at any point when I’m working with a kid, we’re almost always going to be sitting on the floor, and chances are there are toys and/or games everywhere. A lot of parents worry about their kids making a mess when they’re in the therapy room, but my one “rule” to kids is “While you’re in here, this is your play room and we can do whatever you want to do; and I’ll let you know if there’s anything we can’t do that makes us unsafe.”  Even with teens, we frequently move to the floor to create art, play games, or sometimes just talk. My whole point is, despite the natural discomfort that comes with discussing our hurts and revealing our vulnerabilities, I want my clients to feel as comfortable and safe as possible in the therapy room. 

4)   I Believe in Letting Clients Speak (or Play) What’s on Their Mind  

I often explain to parents that the therapy room is different than the outside world because kids are allowed to act out their feelings, say things that may be inappropriate, yell, scream or play whatever they need to play to “get it out.” Sometimes it’s difficult for parents to let go and not correct, but what I explain is, as adults, we’re allowed to go into therapy and say whatever we want, no matter how inappropriate  it may be, because we know it’s a “safe environment.” Kids are doing the exact same thing and most of the time they understand the therapy room is different and the behaviors they demonstrate in the play room don’t carry out into every day life. That being said, if you’re in my office, or your kid is in my office, you can say whatever you need to say, or do whatever you need to do and I won’t be alarmed or surprised. 

5)   I Believe My Clients Are The Experts on Themselves

This goes for my adult clients as well as the parents of kids that I see. A typical phrase you will probably hear me say is, “I don’t live with you and I don’t think you want me to live with you or follow you around all day.” What I’m trying to say when I make this statement, is that yes, I’m an expert as it relates to therapy and trauma, but my clients are the ultimate experts on themselves and their kids, and they will ultimately spend more time with themselves or their kids than I ever will. I think the large point of therapy is working together as experts to reach a common goal.  I never claim to know more about a child than the parent and I frequently tell parents that I lean on the them to give me insight into their child’s behaviors, habits, personality, etc., especially in the beginning. My job as a therapist isn’t to tell you who you are or what to do, but to help you learn more about why you do the things you do and support you in the changes you want to make.  

Like I said in the last post, learning about me as therapist probably isn’t as fun or exciting as learning about my weird reality TV obsession, but I think it’s important to know both sides. I truly am an authentic person and try to carry as much of my personality into my role as a therapist, as possible.  I’m an open book so if you ever have a question about who I am or how I am as a therapist, feel free to ask; or if there’s ever something you want to learn more about or want me to write about in a future blog, e-mail me at lauren@yearegopc.com, and I’d be more than happy to share my thoughts!