About Lauren Cortez, lmft
EMDR + Brainspotting for Women in Denver, CO + Throughout Colorado & California
Helping you move beyond understanding your patterns + into actually experiencing something different in your life and relationships.
please Hear me when I say:
You are not broken. Your nervous system has just been trying to protect you.
If you’re here, something in you is tired of feeling like you understand everything, yet still feeling stuck in the same patterns + experiences when it comes to relationships.
Maybe you’ve spent years being self-aware, reflective, and doing the work
while your relationships still feel confusing, activating, nonexistent, or like something just isn’t fully clicking.
Working with a therapist like me can help you move beyond insight
so you can finally feel more grounded, clear, and secure in not only your relationships, but your experience of life as a whole.
DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?
You understand your patterns—but they still show up in your relationships.
You feel steady and grounded on your own…
but something shifts when you start to like someone.
You overthink, try to make sense of things, but you still don’t feel clear and grounded.
You find yourself drawn to people who feel just out of reach…or maybe you feel so closed off that nothing is happening at all.
You start questioning yourself in ways that don’t quite feel like you…wondering if you’re too much, not enough, or missing something.
And underneath it all…
there’s a quiet frustration of knowing you’ve done so much work—so why does it still feel this way?
This is where I come in…
I’m Lauren, a therapist who helps women understand and shift the relationship patterns that keep them feeling stuck, stagnant, overthinking, or questioning themselves.
I work with women who are self-aware and growth-oriented, but still find themselves pulled into the same dynamics, or wondering why nothing is really moving forward.
My approach is warm, grounded, and collaborative. You do NOT need to be fixed. You need someone who can help you understand what your mind and body have been trying to say all along, so things can actually start to feel different.
We’ll move at a pace that feels steady and supportive so you’re not overwhelmed, but you’re also not staying stuck.
I use EMDR, Brainspotting, parts work, and nervous system-focused approaches…
but the work is always centered on one thing: helping you feel more clear, more grounded, and more like yourself in your relationships and your life.
How I work
There comes a point where insight alone isn’t enough.
When you understand your patterns… but still find yourself in the same dynamics.
When you can explain exactly what’s happening… but your body still reacts in ways you can’t seem to change.
When you’ve done the reflecting, the processing, the trying—
and something deeper still feels stuck.
This is where our work begins.
Not by trying harder,
but by working with the patterns at the level they actually live—so your experience in relationships and day-to-day life can start to feel different.
A HOLISTIC APPROACH…
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This is a widely known, structured, evidence-based approach that helps the brain reprocess painful memories so they no longer carry the same emotional intensity. We’ll work at your pace, ensuring you feel grounded and supported throughout. Learn more about EMDR here.
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Originally derived from EMDR, Brainspotting is a focused, body-based method that uses eye position to access and process stored trauma. It can help reach experiences that feel difficult to put into words, allowing your nervous system to release what it’s been holding. Learn more about Brainspotting here.
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I also incorporate parts work (IFS), which helps us understand the different “parts” of you that show up in relationships—like the part that overthinks, the part that pulls away, or the part that wants to feel chosen. Instead of trying to eliminate these parts, we’ll get to know them and curious about what they’ve been protecting you from and what they need to feel safe and supported. Learn more about IFS here.
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While these modalities are powerful, the most important part of this work is the relationship we build together.
Real change happens when you feel safe, seen, supported and genuinely understood + accepted. That’s where the magic happens :) -
For some, this work feels more supportive in a longer, more focused format. Therapy intensives allow us to stay with what’s unfolding and move through patterns more deeply, without having to stop right as things are opening up. Learn more here.
specializing in:
Relationship Issues
Self-trust
Attachment patterns
Anxiety
My Training & Education
I’m a licensed therapist offering virtual therapy for women in Denver, CO and throughout Colorado and California.
Master’s in Marriage & Family Therapy - Touro University Worldwide
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (CA + CO)
EMDR Trained
Brainspotting Phase 1&2
Expansion Brainspotting
Rapid Transformational Hypnotherapist
Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
Hi! I’m Lauren…
And I’m really glad you’re here :)
I became fascinated with a holistic approach to mental + physical health over 11 years ago. I’ve studied integrative nutrition, hypnotherapy, subconscious work—and honestly, I’ve just been a student of life ever since. My passion for feeling genuinely GOOD in life and living it to the fullest in every area, led me to becoming a therapist and eventually trained in both EMDR + Brainspotting (one of my favorite supportive tools!)
This work is deeply personal to me. I know what it’s like to be self-aware, intentional, and feel like you’re doing everything “right”… and still end up in the same patterns. To understand where things come from—but not feel like anything is actually changing. And to start questioning yourself in ways that don’t feel true to who you actually are.
At a certain point, I started to realize that it wasn’t more insight that I needed, but a way to access and face the “scary” parts of myself in order to step into the woman I knew I wanted to be. I specialize in relationship work because, honestly, it’s where I’ve had the most lessons in my own life, and this has given me the gift of relating to clients on a deep, real level. The truth is, I don’t see relationship struggles as the problem—I see them as the doorway into the deeper work that changes everything and actually has the power to transform life as a whole.
I’m a firm believer that we don’t need to learn how to hold the painful emotions - most of us are already very good at that. The deeper work is expanding your capacity for love, joy, connection… and actually letting yourself feel good. That’s the part I really love.
I love being a therapist, and I’m really glad you found your way here. You don’t need to have it all figured out—just a willingness to start. We’ll figure things out together.
Xo
Lauren
I’m a licensed therapist offering virtual therapy for women in Denver, CO and throughout Colorado and California.
My core values
DEPTH OVER INSIGHT
Understanding your patterns is important—but it’s not the end of the work.
We focus on shifting what’s underneath, so things actually feel different in your life.
COLLABORATION
This isn’t something being done to you—it’s something we move through together.
Your experience, pace, and voice guide the process.
Safety
Real change happens when you feel safe enough to be fully yourself.
Our work is paced in a way that supports your system, not overwhelms it.
HONESTY
Growth requires being real about what’s actually happening.
I’ll meet you with honesty too—even when it’s uncomfortable—so you can see clearly and move forward.
Self-trust
You don’t need to keep second-guessing yourself.
This work helps you reconnect with your own clarity, instincts, and inner knowing.
Sustainable change