Resources
A small, trusted list. I only include organizations and books I'd recommend to a client or a friend — not an exhaustive directory, but a starting point when you or someone you love needs support.
For Parents
Books, programs, and clinician-vetted reading for parents navigating anxiety, behavior, and identity.
- SPACE Treatment
Official site for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions — the evidence-based program Lauren is certified in.
- Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD
Dr. Eli Lebowitz's book introducing the SPACE method. Practical, parent-focused, evidence-based.
- Child Mind Institute
Clinician-reviewed articles for parents on anxiety, ADHD, depression, identity, and child development.
For Teens & Young Adults
Peer-supported lines and mental health organizations built for young people.
- Teen Line
Call 800-852-8336 (6pm-10pm PT) or text TEEN to 839863 — teens supporting teens.
- The Jed Foundation (JED)
Mental health resources for teens and young adults navigating high school, college, and adulthood.
LGBTQ+ Affirming Resources
Organizations that support LGBTQ+ youth, families, and the schools and communities around them.
- PFLAG
Support, education, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ people, their families, and allies — local chapters across California.
- Gender Spectrum
Resources for gender-expansive children, teens, and the adults who love them.
- GLSEN
Works to ensure K-12 schools are safe and affirming for LGBTQ+ students.
Professional Verification
Independently verify any California therapist's credentials, or view Lauren's professional profile.
- California BBS License Verification
Look up any California-licensed or registered therapist (Lauren: AMFT #135201).
- Lauren's Psychology Today Profile
Full professional profile with specialties, fees, and insurance details.
Books & Reading
Books and websites Lauren actively recommends to parents, teens, and young adults. These are for deeper-dive learning — not crisis support.
For Parents
- The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents
A research-backed guide to understanding what's normal in adolescent emotional development — and when to worry. Helps parents support their teens through intense feelings while staying connected.
- Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls
Explores the unique stressors facing girls today — from social media to academic pressure — and offers parents practical strategies to help their daughters manage anxiety and build resilience.
- Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood
Maps the seven key developmental transitions girls move through on the way to adulthood — with practical, compassionate guidance for parents on navigating each stage, from parting with childhood to entering the romantic world.
- Yes, Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know About Today's Teens and Sex
A frank, research-based guide helping parents understand today's sexual landscape — from sexting and pornography to consent and legal risks — with age-appropriate tools and conversation starters for talking openly with tweens, teens, and college students.
- How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kids for Success
A compelling case against helicopter parenting, drawing on research and real stories to show how stepping back — and allowing kids to struggle — builds the resilience and independence they need to thrive.
- Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers
Examines the growing trend of children looking to peers rather than parents for guidance — and shows how parents can reclaim their influence by deepening attachment, so children feel secure enough to develop into their own unique selves.
- The 5 Principles of Parenting: Your Essential Guide to Raising Good Humans
Distills decades of developmental research into five core principles — Relationship, Reflection, Regulation, Rules, and Repair — offering a compassionate, practical framework for raising resilient, emotionally healthy kids at any age.
- The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind
Explains how a child's brain is wired and how different regions develop at different rates — and offers 12 practical strategies to help parents nurture emotional intelligence, reduce meltdowns, and support healthy development.
- You and Your Adult Child: How to Grow Together in Challenging Times
The first comprehensive guide for parents of adult children, addressing how to evolve the parent-child relationship during the pivotal years from 18 to 35 — when to help, when to hold back, and how to stay close.
- Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic and What We Can Do About It
Investigates how relentless achievement pressure is fueling anxiety and depression in today's students, and shows parents how to help their kids feel valued for who they are — not just what they accomplish.
- Sex, Teens, and Everything in Between: The New and Necessary Conversations Today's Teenagers Need to Have about Consent, Sexual Harassment, Healthy Relationships, Love, and More
A practical guide for parents and educators to have honest, age-appropriate conversations with teens about consent, healthy relationships, and navigating today's complex sexual culture — with real-life scenarios and discussion questions throughout.
For Teens & Young Adults
- The Confidence Code for Girls: Taking Risks, Messing Up, & Becoming Your Amazingly Imperfect, Totally Powerful Self
An empowering read for pre-teen and teen girls about building genuine confidence — not perfection. Encourages risk-taking, resilience, and the courage to be authentically themselves.
- Your Turn: How to Be an Adult
A warm, inclusive guide to navigating adulthood — covering everything from finances to relationships to finding purpose — for young adults ready to take the lead in their own lives.
- A Still Quiet Place for Teens: A Mindfulness Workbook to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions
An interactive workbook that teaches teens mindfulness practices to manage stress, anxiety, and big emotions — with simple exercises they can use on their own.
Websites & Ongoing Reading
- Dr. Lisa Damour
Articles, podcast episodes, and resources on adolescent development, mental health, and parenting teens from one of the leading experts in the field.
- Challenge Success
An independent organization partnering with schools, parents, and teachers to provide skills and resources for families to lead balanced and meaningful lives.
- Grown and Flown
Articles and resources for parents of teens and college-age students.
- Michael Gurian
Leading author and researcher on boys.
This page is for information only and is not medical or mental health advice. Therapy, medication, and crisis decisions should be made with a qualified professional who knows your situation.