Meet Lauren Schloemer, LISW-S Licensed Independent Social Worker · Certified Trauma Specialist

WHO I AM

Lauren brings something most therapists can't: she's not just a clinician who works with foster and adoptive families — she's lived it. As an adoptive parent and retired foster parent herself, Lauren understands the complexity, the love, and the very real challenges that come with building families in nontraditional ways. With over 20 years of experience across child welfare, juvenile justice, outpatient, and school-based mental health settings, Lauren has worked with some of the most vulnerable and resilient people around. That breadth of experience shapes how she shows up in session: grounded, practical, and genuinely invested in every family she works with.

WHO I WORK WITH

Lauren specializes in working with parents and caregivers who are trying their best to support children, adolescents and adult children through some of life's most complex emotional, behavioral, and developmental challenges. While she brings deep clinical knowledge of what their children may be experiencing, her work today is focused primarily on the parent: helping caregivers understand what is happening beneath the surface of their child's behavior, build the tools to respond with confidence and compassion, and show up in a way that actually moves the needle at home.

Lauren helps parents understand and navigate a wide range of childhood and adolescent presentations including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, trauma and PTSD, OCD, ADHD, oppositional defiance, and reactive attachment disorder (RAD). She also supports caregivers whose children are struggling with eating disorders, selective mutism, social anxiety, withdrawal and isolation, peer relationship challenges, and hygiene barriers that are often rooted in deeper emotional or sensory experiences.

Her background in child welfare and juvenile justice means she is especially equipped to support parents of young people involved in delinquent behaviors, truancy, and school refusal. She understands that these are rarely behavioral problems in isolation but rather signals of something deeper, and she helps parents learn how to respond to the signal rather than just the behavior.

Lauren also works with parents and families affected by alcohol and other drug use (AoD), and provides affirming, nonjudgmental care for LGBTQ+ clients and their families across all age groups.

What ties all of this together is Lauren's core belief: that when a parent feels supported, informed, and equipped, the whole family benefits. Her work is not just about the child in the room. It is about strengthening the relationship between the people who love that child most.

MY APPROACH

Lauren's approach is strength-based and client-centered, meaning she meets you where you are, not where she thinks you should be. She offers parent therapy sessions designed to give caregivers real tools, deeper insight, and a space to breathe. Whether you are navigating a child's behavioral challenges, processing your own experiences, or simply trying to feel more confident in your role as a parent, Lauren meets you with warmth, expertise, and zero judgment.

TRAINING & CREDENTIALS

Lauren holds a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Cincinnati with a specialization in Child Welfare, a Master of Social Work from the University of Cincinnati specializing in Mental Health, and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. Her business background gives her a unique ability to help families think strategically about systems, resources, and long-term planning alongside the emotional work.

SERVICE LOCATION

Lauren offers parent therapy and individual sessions for adults via telehealth throughout New York State. All of Lauren's sessions are conducted virtually, allowing families and caregivers across New York to access her expertise from the comfort of their own home.