L A V E L D A
N A Y L O R
LMFT-S/COACH
She/Her/Hers
{ TEXAS THERAPIST & GLOBAL RELATIONSHIP COACH }
"No time like
the present to work sh!t out"
-Beastie Boys
SPECIALITIES
Things I work with especially well.
Mood Dysregulation
depression
anxiety
phobias
compulsions
bipolar
borderline
suicidality
explosiveness
impulsivity
panic attacks
intrusive thoughts
mood swings
Relationship Help
partners conflict
boundaries
communication
divorce/ breakup
intimacy issues
codependency
trust building
dating anxiety
attachment style
trauma bonding
infidelity
sex drive
LGTBQ+
Kink/Poly
partners therapy
sexual identity
queer culture
coming out
gender identity
gender transition
gender dyshporia
transition planning
gender roles
polyamory
kink culture
family rejection
Adult Giftedness
neuro-divergence
chronic cynicism
twice- exceptional
perfectionism
multipotentiality
under-achievement
low belongingness
chronic boredom
empathic overwhelm
high sensitivity (HSP)
over-excitability
moral outrage
LMFT Associate
Supervision
collaborative
integrative
growth mindset
.existentialism
case conceptualization
career planning
private practice
business goals
work boundaries
avoiding Burnout
exploring a niche
REGISTRATION
Ready to begin?
As a virtual therapist, I am to make getting started as easy is possible. To onboard, simply enter the client portal below and create a profile. You will fill out all forms online, which address most client concerns. Once registered in the client portal, you can create a journal, manage billing, schedule sessions, send chats, access your forms, and work towards your therapy goals all online. Virtual sessions will be held in the portal or via Psychology Today's Sessions platform. If you prefer a different platform, you may provide a link to therapist prior to each session.
*ALL SESSIONS ARE CURRENTLY VIRTUAL*
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C O $ T
{DEFAULT RATE $100/HOUR}
SLIDNG SCALE FEES: If you are unable to pay the default fee, you may apply for a reduced rate between $70-$100 per hour (first session is $100). Special rates available for graduate students studying mental health work and mental health professionals ($50 with documentation), as well as Open Path members ($60 with membership number). Free cancellation 24 hours prior to session, late cancel $35, same day cancellation or no shows are full session fee.
PAYMENT: fees for services are due at the time of service. Private pay only and all payments are out of pocket; PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, debit/credit, HSA accepted. NO INSURANCE ACCEPTED. Receipts are available for personal filing /reimbursement purposes upon request.
LEGAL FEES: Fees for services related to mental health legal/medical support (i.e., letters, court appearances, etc.) requested by clients are $200/hour, rush documentation of less than one week are an additional 35% of total invoice. Written consent is required for release of information, documents requested can be mailed for $15 via USPS. EXPERT WITNESS as an LMFT in TX on the behalf of legal council is $300 an hour, billed monthly to requesting entity.
MODALITIES
What treatment modality is best for you?
virtual therapy
all sessions currently virtual
Virtual therapy (video, phone, and/or chat) is an effective alternative to in-person therapy a for just about anyone: people who are comfortable with technology, have mobility issues, or are busy and dealing with time constraints. For such people, research shows outcomes of virtual therapy are not significantly different from in person therapy regardless of reason for attending or therapeutic approach. However, virtual therapy is NOT a good fit for small children, technology challenged, or actively suicidal clients. If you cannot find privacy for 45 minutes, virtual video/phone sessions may not work for you as confidentiality and privacy are critical components of therapy. HIPPA platforms offered for virtual video sessions are Client Portal, Psychology Today, and Zoom (if client initiated).
individual therapy
just for you
This modality focuses on the issues that a single client of any age brings to treatment: From chronic difficulties to challenging life events, even to just needing a listener - someone who doesn't judge and who can help generate new perspectives. Good candidates include just about anyone feeling stuck and unsatisfied with life, but examples are those struggling with a diagnosis, experiencing a life change, grief/loss, mood difficulties, etc. For this modality, I generally use a combination of systemic ideas, cognitive tools, and existential therapies to support your therapy goals. I also offer relationship coaching that targets issues specific to dating and/or parenting in a modern world.
partner therapy
plus a significant other
This modality focuses on issues that occur between intimately connected persons. Issues range from poor communication to infidelity. Symptoms are identified within relationship characteristics, not an individual. Good candidates are partners who have more negative than positive interaction, trust issues, relationship stress or dissatisfaction, escalating conflict, poor communication, withdrawal from each other, separation talks, etc. For this modality, I generally use a combination of systemic ideas, attachment-focused dialogues, and cognitive behavioral tools to support your therapy goals.
family therapy
more than partners
This modality focuses on the issues within a family system - members of our primary support group. Issues in families range from parental concerns, to life cycle changes, to family conflict. Symptoms are identified within the context of the family and treatment focuses on addressing family functioning as a whole, instead of on a single person and that person's issues. Good candidates include families with a high degree of conflict, regular/repetitive stress, ongoing developmental or health issues, families experiencing change, divorce, struggling with diagnosis , etc. For this modality, I generally use a combination of systemic psychoeducation, experiential, and cognitive behavioral tools to support group goals.
group therapy
more than you and yours
This modality focuses on a singular, common issue and works off of the relational dynamics between people. Coping and interpersonal functioning can be improved by participating in such a group; through the sharing of struggles and common goals, group members share ideas and develop a sense of cohesiveness, often realizing they are not alone, which creates feelings of universality and renewed connection to humanity.
A P P R O A C H E S
How I roll ...
I am an activist therapist, and care deeply about social justice issues, marginalized groups, and inclusivity. My perspectives are grounded in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience research, empowerment coaching perspectives, and systems theory. Each of these lenses helps me see mental health issues in complex (rather than reductive) ways. and enable me to formulate sensitive treatment plans for the struggles of life.
But at heart I am, an existentialist, I believe we experience life in two distinct ways: BEING (internal) and DOING (external) --these two worlds influence each other but the Being world is an entirely private and unique experience. Therefore, it is important to explore and organize this space in ways that help you cope with the absurdity of having to juggle these two parallel worlds, especially when the external world is often shitty. So how are we going to do that?
YOU LIVE IN YOUR MIND, SO BE MIND-FULL.
I often use Mindfulness techniques early on in the therapy process to increase access to your cognitive resources. better manage your emotions, and acknowledge any trauma or issues showing up for you. Therapeutic MINDFULNESS from a secular perspective is directing our attention to the present moment with a nonjudgmental gaze: what am I thinking? what is my body doing? what happened right before I felt that?
With practice, mindfulness can lead to new ideas about yourself and help you create more change in your life by increasing your cognitive resources, guiding your behavior, and increasing your overall wellness. I like to say "We cannot controlthe world, but we can curate our minds."
EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Long Term Change
I find existentialism most critical to integrating our experiences and making lasting change, but it can take some time to arrive at its usefulness in the therapy process (unless you have already had therapy, then we might just dive right in).
Existential ideas relies on self awareness (that mindfulness comes in handy here) and the search for meaning—in treatment, this means centering more on Self rather than Symptom.
By exploring yourself, you can redefine your your relationship with self and other, explore your unique internal life, reshape your narratives, make more authentic decisions and better represent yourself in the world. We can take what we learn about you and turn that into actionable goals, which is critical because inert knowledge doe not have much impact on your life.
"Your responses to the events of life are more important than the events themselves."
– Virginia Satir
EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY
How Change Happens...
I also really like learning by doing--I know that I only have you for an hour at a time and the rest of your life does not work the way therapy does, so I want to create REAL TIME LEARNING with you in our sessions whenever possible. Therefore I use tools and techniques in session meant to provoke an immediate change in your process. And I will teach them to you!
My favorite experiential techniques are those created by Virginia Satir, like family sculpting, defensive postures, leveling, acceptance of differences, belief challenging, cultural awareness, and creativity in response to chaos. She posited that we can become fixed and closed in the status quo. Then when something enters our life we can't cope with in the same old way, we fall into chaos-- this is when most people seek therapy. The good news is we are more open to new ideas when we fall into chaos. Therefore, therapy in the Satir manner is seeking together that transformational idea that relieves your chaos.
Once we find the important tools for where you are in your journey, we usually have to keep working on them until it feels natural to you. And then we have to integrate across tools to reveal the matrix that is how the brain works underneath all that STUFF IN YOUR MIND. It might entail a mind blown emoji or two. :)
ATTACHMENT THEORY is a critical addition to my work, especially with neurodivergent folks, because our attachment style so deeply impacts our relationship experiences across the lifespan and rejection of the self can create a sense of low belongingness and insecurity. .
When we feel safe and understood, we can regulate our internal experience better as we grow because we have a secure attachment. In adulthood, this translates to being more self-confident, trusting, and hopeful, with an ability to healthily manage conflict, respond to intimacy, and navigate the ups and downs of relationships.
Of course relationships can go wrong, and we can become insecurely attached if we find this traumatizing. If you struggle to regulate your emotions around social interactions and have difficulty maintaining stable relationships in adulthood, you may have an insecure attachment style and attachment based therapy can help you repair some attachment injuries.
Working on attachment improves our ability to tolerate external stress, create closeness, better understand our own emotions and the feelings of others, We are better able to self regulate in the present when our needs from the past have been met.
SUPERVISION
“Therapy is not a conversation; it is an experience.”
– Dr. Harry Aponte
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICANTS FOR SPRING 2022
My approach to supervision is collaborative, integrative and focused on helping you achieve your career goals. I am happy to work within the theories you are experimenting with and expand my own knowledge about your populations of interest. You have something special to give, let's grow it together!
In addition to working with the theories you are exploring, I like to practice a non-hierarchical systems view by Dr Harry Aponte called Person of the Therapist, or POTT, which assumes that "therapists’ cultural, philosophical, and spiritual values are treated as contexts for therapists’ judgments and choices about how they view clients and their issues." So together we will examine our own internal narratives and how they are influencing supervision.
As I have been in private practice since right out of grad school, I am able to advise on how to start, grow and maintain a thriving private pay practice in the state of TX from jump. We can talk business ethics, board compliance, and planning along with licensing process. I am happy to share what I have learned along the way with you and watch you build your brand.If you think we might be a good fit, please submit a cover letter about your clinical interests in working with me, your resume/CV (with references), and graduate school transcript below. I will get back to you to schedule an interview.SUPERVISION FEES: Supervision applicants residing in TEXAS can expect to pay $65 per individual ONLINE supervision session (weekly) and $35 per ONLINE group (monthly) supervision session if accepted as an LMFT-A under my license.
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P U B L I C A T I O N S
Naylor, Lavelda (2018) Adult GT Adults Issues and Interventions. Presented at monthly meeting of Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. (See presentation here)
Naylor, Lavelda (2015). Sexpectations: Communicating About Expectations for Sex Partners in Relationships. Presented at The Sexology Institute, San Antonio, TX.
Naylor, Lavelda, & Wilson, Amy (2013). Social Media Boundaries for Mental Health Professionals. Presented to Family Service Association, San Antonio, TX. http://laveldanaylor.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/social-media-use-as-a-mental-health-professional/
Naylor, Lavelda, & Wilson, Amy (2013). Modern Parenting Perspectives for Mental Health Professionals. Presented to Family Service Association, San Antonio, TX.
David R. Pillow, Glenn P. Malone, Lavelda Bradley (Naylor), & Cristina Cadena (2010). Beliefs Regarding Stimulant Medication Effects Predict Patterns of Use in college Students. Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
(Naylor) Bradley, L., Stanely, E., & Wicha, N. Y.Y. (2009). De Colores: An ERP study of cross-language interference using a bilingual color-Stroop task. Presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco, CA.
Bradley, L. & Pillow, D. (2009).
Pillow, D. & (Naylor) Bradley, L. (2008). Predicting Stimulant Medication Use in College Students with AD/HD. Presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.
(Naylor) Bradley, L. & Pillow, D. (2008). Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to ADHD Medication Endpoints. Poster presented at the Spring Research Conference of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, the University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX. Awarded 3rd Place research prize.
(Naylor) Bradley, L. & Pillow, D. (2008). Investigating AD/HD Medication Endpoints. Slide presentation at the 22cd annual meeting of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Salisbury, MA.
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