Laura Picard Therapy

04/21/2026

04/20/2026

People often ask me why I do this work.

And the truth is…
I’ve seen how many people are suffering in silence.

I’ve seen what happens when the pain gets so overwhelming
that parts have to step in just to cope…
whether that’s shutting down, lashing out, or turning to something that numbs it.

And underneath all of that…
there’s usually someone who just wants to feel okay.

That’s why I care so much about this work.
Because I believe every person deserves to meet their true self…
maybe for the first time, or to reconnect with who they’ve always been.

You don’t have to do this alone.

If you’ve been thinking about starting therapy,
I offer free consult calls.
Link in bio to book.

04/16/2026

Your nervous system isn’t broken.
It’s been trying to protect you, maybe for a long time.

What looks like overthinking, anxiety, or shutting down
is often your body doing its best to keep you safe.

But you weren’t meant to live in survival mode forever.

Regulation isn’t about forcing calm or fixing yourself.
It’s about learning how to come back to safety again and again.

That’s something you don’t have to figure out alone.

04/10/2026

Even therapists have tough days 🙏🏼🫶🏻🦋 and that’s ok! I always am grateful for my gift and I absolutely love being a therapist in my soul, but I also am a person with parts and my own journey. One of my fav ways to let it all go is through nature. This is where I feel in Self and whole …

04/07/2026

I didn’t do this to be extreme.
I did it because I felt… full.

Too much input.
Too many opinions.
Too much subtle comparison.

And what surprised me most wasn’t what I lost—
it was what came back.
• My attention
• My presence
• My ability to hear my own thoughts

This isn’t about quitting social media.
It’s about noticing what it might be quietly taking from you.

Curious: what do you notice about your mood after scrolling?
I have women and teens find relief from anxiety and trauma. Feel free to save this post for the next time you feel like you need a break.

04/02/2026

You’re not “too sensitive.”

You’re carrying too many parts that never got heard.

The part of you that overthinks everything.
The one that replays conversations at night.
The one that feels like you’re too much… or somehow still not enough.

Then there’s the part that keeps it all together ,
the one everyone else relies on.

From the outside, you look high-functioning.
Inside, it feels exhausting.

This isn’t a personality flaw.
It’s a system that adapted to survive.

In therapy, we don’t try to “fix” you.
We help you understand and unburden the parts of you that are working overtime. What that means is that we let those vulnerable parts of you finally get a voice and we release the negative beliefs that they’ve been holding.

So you can feel calmer, clearer, and more like yourself
without having to shut parts of you down.

If this hit something in you,
I offer consultations for teens and women who are ready to FEEL different (not just cope better).

You don’t have to keep doing this alone. ❤️

→ DM me “CONSULT” or book through the link in my bio

03/18/2026

Check out my monthly Q+A in Why am I so hard on myself… even when I’m doing well?”

If this hits, you’re not alone.

So many high-achieving people I work with have an inner voice that says:
👉 Do more
👉 Be better
👉 Don’t fall behind

From the outside, it looks like ambition.
But on the inside… it can feel exhausting and never enough.

Here’s the truth:
That voice didn’t come out of nowhere.

It often formed in environments where:
• Love felt tied to performance
• Comparison was constant
• Being “good” meant being better than

So your system adapted.

But what once helped you succeed…
might now be the very thing keeping you stuck in anxiety, burnout, or self-doubt.

✨ You don’t have to lose your drive to feel better.
✨ You don’t have to hate yourself to grow.

You can succeed and be kind to yourself.

That’s the work we do in therapy.

⸻

💬 If this resonates, comment “RELATE” or DM me “SELF” and I’ll send you one question I use with clients to soften that inner critic.

📍 I work with teens & young adults navigating anxiety, trauma, and self-esteem
📞 Complimentary 20-min consult availabl

03/16/2026

More curiosity. Less judgement. So many behaviors people get judged for are actually survival adaptations.

When someone shuts down, overreacts, people-pleases, avoids conflict, or becomes hyper-independent, it’s easy to assume something is “wrong” with them.

But a trauma-informed lens asks a different question:

What happened that made this response make sense?

Many of the patterns people struggle with today started as ways to survive environments where their nervous system learned things like:

• speaking up wasn’t safe
• love had to be earned
• emotions weren’t welcome
• closeness led to hurt
• being perfect was the only way to be accepted

These responses aren’t personality flaws.

They’re protective adaptations.

Being trauma-informed doesn’t mean excusing harmful behavior.

It means understanding the roots of it so people can actually begin to change.

And when we move from judgment to curiosity, healing becomes much more possible.

✨ Save this as a reminder to lead with curiosity.

03/03/2026

Hi 🤍

I’m Laura Picard, a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in CA and in person in Dana Point/Laguna Niguel area, and I specialize in helping teens and women who are struggling with anxiety, trauma, and feeling constantly overwhelmed.

If you live in this area, you probably know the pressure that can quietly build here — high expectations, busy schedules, trying to hold it all together, being the dependable one, the achiever, the “strong” one.

But underneath that, I often see women and teens who are:

• Overthinking everything
• Struggling with panic or chronic anxiety
• People-pleasing and overachieving
• Feeling burnt out but unable to slow down
• Carrying unresolved trauma
• Navigating big life transitions
• Feeling “not enough” despite doing so much

I don’t just do surface-level coping. I do depth work.

I use parts work (Internal Family Systems) to help you understand the different parts of you — the anxious part, the overachiever, the inner critic, the people-pleaser — and how they developed to protect you. When we work at that level, change actually sticks.

I also integrate real skills (DBT tools for emotional regulation, boundaries, and communication) so you leave sessions with practical tools you can use in your daily life — whether that’s with your partner, your kids, school stress, or your own inner dialogue.

Therapy with me is collaborative, grounded, and real. We go deep — but we also build structure and skills so you feel stronger, not just more aware.

I currently have availability for:
• In-person sessions in Laguna Niguel
• Online sessions throughout California

If you’ve been thinking about starting therapy but keep telling yourself you “should be able to handle it,” this might be your sign that you don’t have to do it alone.

You can reach me at:
📧 laurapicardmft@gmail.com
📞 323-510-7571
🌿 www.laurapicardtherapy.com

Feel free to message me directly as well.

Warmly,
Laura

03/02/2026

Your dog might be one of your most consistent experiences of secure attachment.

Secure attachment is built on consistency, attunement, and emotional safety.

Dogs don’t withdraw love when you’re dysregulated.
They don’t shame you for having emotions.
They don’t require you to perform.

From an Internal Family Systems perspective, something powerful is happening.

When you’re holding your dog, your protective parts often soften.
Your anxious part quiets.
Your inner critic steps back.

Why?

Because your nervous system feels safe enough to unblend.

There’s no evaluation.
No comparison.
No “too much” energy.

Just steady presence.

Research shows that interacting with animals increases oxytocin and reduces cortisol. But beyond the neurochemistry, it’s the relational safety that matters.

For many people , especially those with trauma, this may be one of the first relationships that feels consistently safe.

And once the body learns what safe connection feels like, healing becomes possible.

Connection heals.




anxietyhealing
cptsdrecovery
bpdrecovery
mentalhealtheducation
therapistsofinstagram
selfenergy
emotionalregulation
healingjourney
youngadulttherapy
lagunabeachtherapy

02/25/2026

Healing doesn’t happen overnight because we’re not just changing habits.

In IFS therapy, we’re getting to know the different parts of you …
the anxious part, the overthinking part, the one that shuts down, the inner critic.

As an IFS-trained therapist, I don’t see those parts as problems.
They formed for a reason.

We take time to understand what they’re protecting.
We gently uncover the core wounds underneath.
And we build new ways of responding instead of reacting.

That kind of healing is layered.
And it’s lasting.

You already have the capacity to heal.
We just have to figure out how to access it. If you’re ready for healing that goes deeper than quick fixes, I’d love to connect

02/10/2026

Sometimes you’re not being “too hard on yourself.”
You’re just blended with an inner critic that learned pressure = safety.

That part didn’t show up to hurt you.
It showed up to help you survive.

In IFS, we don’t silence the critic —
we help it soften once it knows you’re safe now.

✨ You are not the voice.
✨ You are the one who can notice it.

If this resonates, pause here for a breath — and save this for later.Follow for trauma-informed therapy + nervous system support




mentalhealthrecovery
selfcompassion
therapyreels
healingjourney
anxietyhealing