- Emotionally-Focused Therapy
- Stress and anxiety
- Self-esteem and depression
About Lara
Lara Shemali is a Washington-licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) with 29 years of experience. She helps people manage stress, reduce anxiety, address relationship concerns, and recover from trauma and abuse. She also supports clients working on self-esteem and depression.
Lara uses clear, practical tools to lower stress and anxiety. She often combines talk-based approaches with exercises clients can use between sessions. Conversations focus on current difficulties, patterns that keep problems repeating, and steps people can try right away.
She has worked with people facing addiction and recovery, and helps clients who struggle with commitment, communication, and attachment difficulties. Lara also supports those dealing with body image, chronic illness or pain, and the emotional impact of separation and divorce.
Her approach draws on Emotionally-Focused Therapy alongside Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Sessions tend to center on understanding emotions, noticing unhelpful thoughts, and trying small behavioral changes to test new ways of relating.
Lara recognizes busy schedules can make attending therapy hard. She notes weekday hours are standard and she may offer evenings or weekends when possible. To begin, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule a first session through the online options button.
How Lara's approaches translate to online sessions
Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people name and work through emotions that drive difficult relationship patterns. It focuses on how feelings and interaction habits shape how people connect and respond to each other. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages noticing thoughts and committing to actions that align with values, which can help with anxiety, stress, and motivation. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) looks at links between thoughts, feelings, and behavior and uses practical exercises to test new ways of responding.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Lara will discuss goals and preferences and help decide which approaches to use. That decision is collaborative and can change as needs evolve.
The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current online options before booking. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when schedules are tight. It can also let people choose a quieter time of day, avoid camera use if preferred, or schedule sessions outside standard business hours when possible. Licensed professionals can adapt exercises and homework to work well in remote sessions, helping maintain momentum between meetings.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
29+ years
Listed in
Washington
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What concerns does she address?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, and depression. Additional focus areas include addiction recovery, attachment and communication problems, body image, and chronic illness.
What therapeutic style does she use?
She lists Emotionally-Focused Therapy as one of her approaches and also uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These approaches focus on emotions, values-based action, and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors.
How much experience does she have?
She has 29 years of professional experience working with a variety of mental health and relationship concerns. That experience includes addiction recovery work and stress reduction techniques.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is an LMHC licensed in Washington. Her practice is based in Washington state.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are accepted.
What session formats are offered?
The original biography does not list specific session formats. Please confirm current session options before booking.
How does pricing work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time. Exact pricing depends on your location.
How do I get started?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Profile details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. Credential and registration rules differ between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.