Katie Lawliss

Hello! My name is Katie Lawliss (she/her) and I am a clinical psychologist. When I started graduate school, my goal was to fill in the gaps that I saw growing up when it came to finding therapists who understood chronic health issues. I began with my passion in therapy for people with chronic health issues and that continues to be my passion. Additionally, as I started graduate school and became a therapist, I was able to be present with people from all walks of life and all the different concerns that led them to therapy. That is where my love for working with a focus on women’s health and trauma began. All of these experiences have led me to where I am now, focusing on therapy for chronic health conditions, women’s health, and trauma. I have valued my experience working with clients with chronic health conditions, both rare and not, and those struggling to get a diagnosis for their health-related symptoms. I also enjoy working with clients who are pregnant, in the postpartum period, trying to conceive, dealing with pregnancy loss, or coping with the termination of pregnancy. Throughout my work, I have also felt the pull to work with folks who have experienced trauma because trauma-informed therapy is so important and can be truly life changing. There are a wide range of mental health diagnoses that can exist within these specialties, including depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, adjustment disorders, ADHD, and more. The work I do as a therapist looks at the whole picture of how a person is functioning, mind and body. I approach therapy from an eclectic theoretical approach meaning, I combine different types of therapy to best fit each client. I include approaches from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, psychodynamic theory, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, self-compassion, and more.  Beyond theoretical approach, I believe it is important to tailor treatment to each individual and their identity, rather than using a “one size fits all” model. I work to understand how your family, culture, and race impact your lived experiences and ensure that those pieces of your identity are not overlooked in therapy.  I also ensure that our work together is gender affirming. Additionally, I work firmly from a weight-neutral, Health at Every Size (HAES), perspective. It is important that therapy spaces acknowledge the impacts of societal discrimination on wellbeing and work to ensure that there is not further harm caused within the therapy space by way of biases and microaggressions. All aspects of your identity are important to me and our work together. My experience as a clinician is so meaningful to me because I get to work with so many people that deserve compassion, empathy, and a feeling of agency over their own lives. I work with clients to figure out their purpose in life and to help them add meaning to their days. While also working to help my clients identify and use concrete coping skills, while exploring their insights and their emotional world.