- Years in practice
- 10
- Credentials
- LPC
- Licensed in
- Missouri
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Grief
- Focus
- Self esteem
About Lara
Lara Ashbaugh is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Missouri who brings ten years of clinical experience to therapy. She focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, parenting challenges, and life transitions in a practical, down-to-earth way. Lara draws on several evidence-informed approaches to help people manage strong emotions and rebuild daily routines.
She uses acceptance and commitment strategies alongside cognitive-behavioral tools to help people notice what matters and take manageable steps toward it.
Background and approach
Dialectical behavior therapy skills are a frequent part of sessions when emotion regulation and interpersonal effectiveness are needed. Mindfulness practices are used to help slow down distressing reactions and build awareness in everyday moments. Lara keeps sessions warm and interactive.
She listens without judgment and works with each person to shape goals that fit their life. Conversations focus on concrete tools - skills to try between sessions and ways to notice small shifts that add up over time. Her background includes supporting people through grief, trauma and abuse, addiction concerns, ADHD, and issues around identity such as gender dysphoria and LGBT-related stress.
She also assists clients facing career strain, caregiver burnout, body image concerns, and the pressures of adoption or foster care experiences. People who choose Lara can expect a collaborative process that emphasizes strengths and practical change. She aims to tailor interventions to individual needs and to help people build routines and skills that last beyond therapy.
If someone is ready to take steps toward change, she offers steady guidance and clear tools to get started.
What Lara works with
Everything Lara lists, in the therapist's own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Lara helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Grief
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Coping with life changes
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Trauma and abuse
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fertility issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hearing impaired
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Life purpose
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Lara lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches you can use online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify what matters to them and take small, meaningful steps toward those values. It uses short exercises and experiential work to reduce avoidance and build a more value-driven life, which can help with depression, anxiety, and life changes.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing them with practical experiments. It is task-oriented and teaches specific skills for managing anxiety, mood, and behavior patterns so people can see measurable change between sessions.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Lara will collaborate with each person to decide which methods fit their goals and preferences. That can mean blending ACT, CBT, DBT skills, and mindfulness practices into a plan that feels doable and relevant to daily life.
Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy easier to fit into busy schedules. Video is useful when visual cues help the conversation, phone calls can be simpler when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat can work for brief check-ins or skill practice between appointments. These options give flexibility for people balancing parenting, work, or caregiving commitments while still accessing a licensed professional.
Questions people ask about Lara
What concerns does Lara commonly address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, parenting challenges, addiction, ADHD, trauma and a range of identity and relationship stressors.
What is her therapy style like?
Sessions are warm and interactive. She combines acceptance, cognitive-behavioral, DBT, and mindfulness tools to teach practical coping skills.
How long has she been practicing?
Lara has ten years of experience working as a therapist, supervisor, and teacher in clinical settings.
Where is she licensed to practice?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) licensed in Missouri and provides services from that state.
Can sessions be conducted in languages other than English?
Sessions are offered in English.
What formats are used for sessions?
She works via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging depending on the session type chosen.
How are sessions paid for and what do they cost?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; services use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.
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