A warm, collaborative space to understand yourself more deeply, tend to your relationships, and move through life with greater awareness and purpose.
Get in touch
Do you value a strong connection with yourself, fulfilling relationships, and a life guided by intention and authenticity?
I'm Lauren Carpenter, a licensed independent clinical social worker based in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. I work with thoughtful, motivated adults who are curious about themselves and committed to living with greater awareness and purpose.
Whether you're navigating anxiety, a difficult transition, a relationship that feels stuck, or simply a sense that something in your life is asking for attention, therapy can be a place to slow down, get honest, and find your way forward. My hope is that you leave our work together feeling more connected to yourself and more at home in your life.
I earned my Master of Social Work from the Boston College School of Social Work and have been practicing for more than a decade.
Our relationship is at the heart of the work. I bring warmth, directness, and genuine curiosity, and I'll meet you where you are rather than where you think you should be. Together we'll pay attention not only to what's happening in your life, but to the patterns, stories, and protective parts of you that shaped how you got here.
My approach draws on attachment-based and relational therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), narrative and strength-based work, and cognitive behavioral tools when they're useful. In practice, that means less jargon and more real conversation.
Change happens in the context of a trusting relationship. We'll build that together, at your pace.
The ways you've learned to cope made sense once. We'll get curious about them rather than critical.
Understanding matters, and so does living differently. We'll keep one eye on what you want your life to look like.
My practice is LGBTQ+ affirming and welcoming of every identity, relationship structure, and family shape.
Worry that won't quiet down, overthinking, perfectionism, and the exhaustion of holding it all together.
Low energy, flatness, self-criticism, or a persistent sense of disconnection from the things that used to matter.
New roles, endings, divorce, career shifts, becoming a parent, or the quiet unease of a life that no longer fits.
Recurring conflict, difficulty with closeness or boundaries, and the family patterns that keep showing up.
Identity, motherhood, caregiving, ambition, and the particular pressures of being everything to everyone.
Loss, painful histories, and experiences that still live in the body — approached gently and at your pace.
I also work with self-esteem, parenting, and the ordinary but real challenge of wanting more meaning and intention in daily life.
Adults and couples.
$175 per session. Private pay welcome.
In network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Optum, UnitedHealthcare, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, and UMR.
LICSW, Massachusetts license #121836. MSW, Boston College.
If you're not sure whether we're a good fit, or whether your insurance plan is covered, just ask — I'm happy to talk it through by email or phone before we schedule anything.
Yes. I offer individual and couples therapy by secure video or phone to adults anywhere in Massachusetts. I'm based in Manchester-by-the-Sea on the North Shore, and I also offer in-person walk-and-talk sessions outdoors nearby.
Walk-and-talk therapy is a regular therapy session held outdoors while walking side by side, rather than sitting in an office or on a screen. Many people find that movement, fresh air, and the ocean make it easier to open up and think clearly. We meet along the North Shore near Manchester-by-the-Sea, and sessions are the same length and confidentiality as any other session.
I'm in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield, Optum, UnitedHealthcare, Mass General Brigham Health Plan, and UMR (United Medical Resources). If you have a different plan, email or call me and I'll let you know whether it's covered. Private pay is $175 per session.
I work with adults and couples on anxiety and stress, depression and low mood, life transitions, relationship patterns, women's issues, grief, trauma, self-esteem, and parenting. Many of my clients are thoughtful, motivated people who want to live with more awareness and intention.
My work is relational and attachment-based, drawing on Internal Family Systems (IFS), narrative and strength-based therapy, and cognitive behavioral tools when they're useful. In practice that means a warm, direct, and curious conversation focused on what you want your life to look like.
Send me an email at lcarpenterlicsw@gmail.com or call (508) 932-1777 with a few words about what's bringing you to therapy. You can also use the "Send me a message" button below to reach me through my secure client portal. I'll reply to say hello, answer any questions, and we can set up a first session if it feels like a good fit.
Yes. I'm a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in Massachusetts, license #121836. I earned my Master of Social Work from the Boston College School of Social Work and have been practicing for more than a decade.
If you would like to contact me about working together, please send me an email or give me a call. I'll get back to you soon to say hello and answer any questions.
