About Us

Laurie was first exposed to mental health treatment in Boston, MA where she worked with institutionalized adults in a state psychiatric hospital. She then dove into community-based care while living on the island of Oahu, HI where she worked as a crisis counselor and provided street side interventions to the school system, the homeless population, hospitals, + rural communities. It was in this role that Laurie adopted the approach of improving self-care while focusing on nutrition + physical activity as practical ways to improve mood + confidence. This approach was further strengthened in Laurie’s mind after years of working in children’s psychiatric hospital administration as a department head and witnessing the impact of a strong medical model on the lives of children + their families. While there is a place for this level of care, Laurie believes more interventions should be preventive + proactive in an effort to preserve a client’s sense of independence + control in managing their own health. 

Thus, Laurie founded Beach Counseling, LLC in 2016 as an attempt to bring this approach to treatment.  In her outpatient practice, she initially worked with clients diagnosed with chronic diseases, primarily infertility + problems affecting fertility. She also worked with a large number of clients diagnosed with borderline diabetes + diabetes.