Dr. Lauren Welter
Currently, Lauren is a Licensed Psychologist and Health Service Provider in the state of Iowa, runs a mental health practice with several locations in Eastern Iowa, and is a mental health coach specializing in abuse, sexual trauma, divorce & high-conflict co-parenting, and the impact of addiction on family systems. Lauren has significant experience working with a range of mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety, trauma (sexual trauma, interpersonal violence, combat trauma, motor vehicle accidents, natural disasters), eating disorders, grief and loss, managing chronic pain and health conditions, relationship struggles and life transitions.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Lauren enjoys being outside, laughing with her children, running, yoga, trying new recipes, quality time with close friends, learning as much as she can, and enjoying the simple pleasures in life.
Lauren believes that humans are deeply resilient and that we can overcome even the worst pain and trauma. She looks forward to meeting you and to helping you, too, transform your trauma into purposeful, joyful living.
Dr. Lauren Welter is an Iowa-based Licensed Psychologist, mental health coach, and single mother of four young children. She is passionate about helping others use their painful, traumatic life experiences to create even deeper meaning, purpose, and potential in their lives.
Lauren grew up in Iowa City, Iowa and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she competed on the Tarheels’ Cross Country and Track and Field teams before suffering a career-ending injury. She moved to the “Big Apple” immediately after college graduation and spent several years working on Wall Street in New York City. The combination of this stressful work environment and the psychological fallout after being sexually assaulted at the end of college led to significant anxiety and panic attacks. All of these experiences culminated in what Lauren jokingly refers to as a “quarter life crisis,” through which she deeply explored her values and life path, ultimately deciding to leave her career and the big city in search of a more personally meaningful life. She returned home to Iowa and began her doctoral studies at the University of Iowa in 2009. In 2010, she co-founded a Guatemalan non-profit organization that provides holistic support (legal, psychological, and practical) for female survivors of interpersonal violence. Lauren completed her doctoral studies in 2015 and opened her own practice in 2018, after the birth of her second child. For many years she balanced life as a rural psychologist, farmwife, and mother before her own divorce; now she’s (not at all balanced!) in attempting to manage single motherhood and professional life.
While the journey has not been easy, Lauren strives to use each beautiful and painful experience in her life for growth, and is grateful for the blessings that have come through even the most traumatic of her life experiences. Lauren is excited to share some of the lessons she has learned about using the obstacles and challenges that life gives you to become a stronger, wiser, happier person.