About me
Laura Sparkman is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Education with a Minor in Spanish in 2005. She later earned a Master of Counseling from Southern Methodist University in 2012. Laura has spent the last 18 years working across the medical, educational, and non-profit sectors with all demographics. She has served various roles as a teacher, learning specialist, guidance counselor and administrative / faculty adviser in both private and public schools in the greater Dallas area.
Just as a diabetic requires insulin and a person with vision impairment needs glasses, sometimes we benefit from emotional support to boost optimal brain health and function. Counseling is a safe, collaborative opportunity for you to take personal, self-care time assessing, processing and redefining your life. Learn to build skills to improve communication, social relationships, goal setting, decision making, time management, organization, work / life balance, self-esteem and any other issues preventing you from being the most authentic, successful, fulfilled version of yourself.
Laura’s passion and specialty is working with the learning different population who often struggle with co-morbid social-emotional challenges. As a hybrid professional, she blends the worlds of education & therapy offering her clients a myriad of practical strategies and tools. Additionally, Laura enjoys empowering parents & the larger family system to foster healing, strength, perseverance, and optimism through challenging times. She encourages her clients on their journey to better manage stress, anxiety, and depression. She uses a combination of therapy orientations tailored to the individual including Cognitive Behavioral, Solution Focused and Family Systems Therapy to instill hope by reframing maladaptive, distorted thought patterns and foster positive coping skills.
Teenagers are in that phase of life where they think they are adults, and we can all agree they are no longer children. Counseling can be beneficial for pre-teens and teens for a variety of reasons, whether your adolescent is experiencing a crisis, family conflict, academic difficulties, feeling depressed / anxious, or trouble with social relationships. Many teens don’t want to open up to and confide in their parents for fear their parents will either under-react or over-react to the situation. They also can’t handle being dismissed or their problems minimized. Adolescents want their voice to be heard but don’t want matters to become worse if their parents contact other parents or the school, etc. Their reputation and how others perceive them is most important at this stage of development. Having a safe, trusted therapist for your teen to talk to provides a healthy outlet in which they can begin to learn how to process their feelings and develop new, healthy coping skills. They can problem solve without concerns for criticism or punishment.
Adolescence is a challenging time with many physical, emotional and social changes. The brain actually goes through cognitive adjustments in the frontal lobe that can effect executive functioning: mood stability, impulsivity, time management, organization, planning / prioritizing, and decision making to name a few. Oftentimes, teenagers will begin to rebel or test limits. Their perception is their reality. As chaos erupts, adults must intervene with structure and boundary setting. Some teenagers may display patterns of disruptive or harmful behaviors which not only affect the individual, but also his or her family system and community. At the end of the day, adolescents just need one thing: you, calm and secure.
Laura gives teaching tools, supportive therapy, and consultation alongside to parents for identifying and responding to their adolscents. Therapy can also help parents relieve some of their own anxiety and worries about their role and competency as a parent. Laura works with parents through education to help them feel secure, confident and empowered.
Specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem, Motivation
- Coping with life changes
- ADHD
Addictions , LGBT , Relationship issues , Family conflicts , Grief , Intimacy-related issues , Anger management , Career difficulties , Depression , Coaching , Compassion fatigue
Clinical approaches:
Client-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy
Years of Experience: 7
Services offered
Messaging
Phone
Licensing
TX LPC 71033
Reviews
These quotes represent just a few of the many positive reviews that we have received for Laura Sparkman. We don't pay anyone to provide their review and they are all made voluntarily. Some people's experience receiving therapy with Teen Counseling might be different.
Laura is very kind and smart. She gives me real life ways to improve my relationship by teaching me tools, boundaries, and alternative ways to communicate to my partner.
Nice, easy to talk to, understanding, good listener, has good advice! She will help you understand and go through anxiety and life struggles.
Works great so far
I really get along with her. She understands the goals I set for myself and she helps me stay on track.
Love her ability to talk you through your weaknesses and struggles! Great nurturing personality and listens very well along with having great advice to relate with your troubles.
Every session I leave feeling better
Laura has been very helpful. She listens to me and offers guidance on various ways to view my current situation.
Laura is very personable and great to talk to! She shares great advice and let’s me just vent and get things off my mind, she is amazing!
Laura has been such a huge help. I came into therapy with a lot of baggage from different areas and no idea how to handle it. We worked together to sit back and look at the whole, and focused on one area at a time while she provided me with tools I needed, and I feel much more prepared to tackle whatever life brings.
Laura is AWESOME! She has knowledge but most importantly has an amazing heart of compassion towards her patients. I am so grateful I met her!
Laura is wonderful! Highly recommended her as a counselor. She is both warm and welcoming. She is very easy to talk to and makes you feel heard. I enjoy my sessions with her and find her genuine care uplifting during these difficult times.