Natalie "Li" Laurent
I'm Natalie Laurent, often referred to as Li Laurent and in terms of what you want to know, it's fairly variable after education, values, approach & pricing (never be too shy to talk about money). As we know, working on your self is largely about finding the right person to work with you, & there's nothing worse than finding out who that person is half way through a session you've paid to be in - especially if they're not ticking all the boxes you needed ticking. So as much as I can, I'll try to provide the ins and outs of who I am so you can make an informed decision about how you move forward.
A Bit of Background
My career began as a professionally trained dancer, singer-songwriter and fundamentally, music artist, before I decided to explore a psychology career alongside the creative arts. In part, because I love learning, and in part because it seemed sensible to have a back up plan in what seemed like a tumultuous industry. In terms of how I work and my role, I'm a therapist, published researcher and specialist vocal coach working online and in person, though predominantly due to travel commitments, you'll most reliably find me online at the moment. Prior to my current role as an independent AMHSW, I worked in public and private practices in the U.K. and Australia, and helped to mobilise a mental health social work sector for veterans with complex trauma in the U.K. specifically. Obviously I'm a little unusual as a therapist in that I quite obviously lead a life outside the psychological arena, which naturally I think is great, but I do like to make sure you're aware of that, so you can make an informed choice about the type of therapist you need - and how much they "exist" outside of the therapy room. In terms of bumping into each other out and about (this can and does happen), I always leave it to you to decide whether you want to name that, as it really depends on your own boundaries.
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Education & Training
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Derby University, BSc Psychology First Class Honours | Deans Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement
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University of York, Masters Mental Health Social Work Distinction | "Systemic Practice with Military Veterans"
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Chester University, Doctoral Student in Counselling & Psychotherapy | ongoing​
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Estill Method: Level 1 & Level 2
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Professional Registrations
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Social Work England
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AASW
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I've trained in prestigious programs internationally to gain professional qualifications from some brilliant professionals in the field to date. I work with 18+, couples, & have extensive experience with veterans.
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Specialist Focus
What: Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Self Worth / Esteem, Confidence, Self Acceptance, Authenticity
Who: Adults 18+, Couples, Veterans
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Interventions & Modalities
It's really important to have a space that you can understand yourself better in, so that you can express yourself more authentically, freely and without quite so much unattended emotional baggage - outside of it. My approach, therefore, is naturally quite eclectic and a bit more informal, and use a combination of person centred and relational styles (meaning it's focussing on you, and what you need). I then pair this with solution focussed strategies and evidence based methods (meaning I focus on what we know works based on your needs). The benefit of this individualised approach is that depending on what you're wanting to bring to therapy, work through, understand, change or challenge - we can be adaptive as we go. I like to think of it as being a flight of self growth that's flexible enough to have some leg room, but structured enough to have a head rest.
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Things I have found to be particularly effective are: CBT, DBT, EMDR, CPT, NLP, Positive Psychology, Neuroscience / Neurobiology, bibliotherapy, & self help in all the ways it's possible to access it. But mostly, just make sure your therapist feels right for you, and you'll be off to a solid start.
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Referral Pathways:
GP, Self Referral, Medicare, Victims Services, Victims Assist, Open Arms, BUPA, WorkCover Queensland, Teachers Health, HCF, Doctor's Health Fund, SIRA, ACA and self funded sessions. Always check with your insurers what they're paying out for as their terms and conditions tend to vary.
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