With 20+ years of clinical experience, Lauren Pinneo, LCSW, LAC, is a seasoned trauma therapist and passionate advocate for her clients. She brings deep expertise in EMDR, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, and somatic-informed work to help people heal from complex trauma, chronic pain, eating disorders, and life’s most difficult transitions. Lauren practices in Denver and works with clients across Colorado via telehealth.

Her approach is grounded in the conviction that every person carries the capacity for resilience and change — and that genuine healing happens in the context of a real, collaborative relationship. Whether a client is brand new to therapy or has done years of personal work, Lauren meets them exactly where they are.

Lauren’s sessions begin with a genuine check-in — not a clipboard of intake questions, but a real conversation. How are you feeling about being here? What are you noticing? From the start, Lauren shows up as a grounded, calm presence with a warmth that tends to put people at ease quickly. Humor is part of how she connects, and her style is deeply relational — the kind where it doesn’t take long before conversation starts to flow more naturally.

Sessions with Lauren are collaborative by design. You’re the expert on your own life and experience; she brings the clinical knowledge. Together, you’ll explore what’s showing up, what’s getting in the way, and what you actually want to be different. Lauren won’t push her own agenda or hand you a list of fixes. She meets you where you are — and when a session hits a stuck point, she’ll offer direct, honest feedback in a way that feels kind rather than prescriptive.

Lauren weaves in psychoeducation as a natural part of her work — helping clients understand their nervous system so they can start to recognize it in their own daily experience. She’s trained in EMDR, Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, and draws on IFS-informed thinking to explore what parts of you are showing up in the room on any given day. Skills from DBT and CBT come in as tools when they’re genuinely useful, not as the whole framework.

By the end of a session, Lauren’s goal is for you to leave feeling heard, grounded, and with something to take with you — whether that’s a reflection, a grounding practice to try, or simply a new awareness of your own experience between now and the next time you meet.

Therapy with Lauren isn’t about being told what to do. The people who tend to thrive with her are those who are open to exploring, willing to sit with their emotions, and ready to do their own work — even if they’re not sure exactly where to start.

Complex Trauma & EMDR Therapy

Healing the roots, not just the symptoms

Lauren has spent her career working at the intersection of trauma and the body — understanding that the effects of complex trauma don’t live only in memory, but in the nervous system itself. She works with clients navigating a wide range of experiences: childhood and developmental trauma, relational wounds, medical trauma, grief and loss, and co-occurring conditions that often accompany a trauma history.

At the center of Lauren’s trauma work is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) — a powerful, evidence-based therapy that helps the brain process stuck memories and reduce their emotional charge. Lauren also integrates IFS-informed parts work, polyvagal theory, and somatic awareness to help clients understand what’s happening in their body and nervous system, not just their thoughts.

Clients often come to Lauren feeling stuck — like they’ve talked about what happened but it hasn’t quite shifted. EMDR and this deeper, body-based approach can move things that talk therapy alone sometimes can’t. Over time, clients notice they’re less reactive, more grounded, and able to access parts of themselves that used to feel out of reach.

Lauren also brings her trauma expertise to her work as a member of the Catalyst KAP team, where Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy can open new doors for clients whose trauma has been resistant to other treatments.

Chronic Pain & Chronic Illness

When the body becomes part of the story

Living with chronic pain or illness doesn’t just affect the body — it reshapes identity, relationships, and the way a person moves through the world. Lauren brings both clinical skill and genuine compassion to this work, recognizing that the psychological toll of chronic conditions is often as significant as the physical one.

Lauren helps clients navigate the grief, frustration, isolation, and identity shifts that often accompany a chronic diagnosis. She works to untangle the ways that pain and illness intersect with trauma history, nervous system dysregulation, and emotional experience — because healing rarely happens in one dimension alone.

Her approach is collaborative and paced by the client. There’s no agenda to ‘push through’ or minimize what someone is carrying. Instead, Lauren helps clients build internal resources, develop a new relationship with their body, and find a sustainable sense of agency — even within the constraints of ongoing illness or pain.

Eating Disorder Recovery

A whole-person approach to a complex struggle

Eating disorders are rarely just about food. Lauren brings over 15 years of experience working with clients in eating disorder recovery, along with a deep understanding of the trauma, attachment wounds, and emotional pain that so often underlie disordered eating.

As a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Lauren has particular expertise in clients navigating co-occurring eating disorders and substance use — a combination that requires a nuanced, integrated approach. She’s also a skilled EMDR therapist, and incorporates trauma-focused work into eating disorder treatment for clients who are ready to explore the deeper roots of their relationship with food and body.

Lauren is available for both in-person and virtual eating disorder sessions, and often integrates Ketamine-Assisted Therapy for clients whose treatment plans call for it. She believes that a sense of genuine safety in the therapeutic relationship — paired with appropriate challenge — is essential for lasting recovery.

Clients who work with Lauren in this area often describe finally feeling like someone understands the full picture of what they’re carrying, not just the symptoms.

Pregnancy & Postpartum Support

Holding the full complexity of new parenthood

Lauren is passionate about supporting people through the profound transition of becoming a parent — and she’s equally at home with the joy and the grief that can coexist in that season of life. She works with new and expectant parents navigating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, birth trauma, pregnancy and infant loss, and challenges with bonding and attachment.

Birth trauma, in particular, is an area Lauren cares deeply about. For some parents, a birth experience that felt frightening, out of control, or medically complicated can leave lasting marks — unprocessed trauma that EMDR can specifically address. Lauren creates a space where clients can revisit and work through those experiences at their own pace.

She also supports clients managing postpartum depression, anxiety, rage, and OCD — conditions that are more common than many people realize and that can respond well to the right combination of therapeutic support, psychoeducation, and nervous system work. Lauren understands the importance of a team approach, and collaborates with OB/GYNs, midwives, and other providers when helpful.

Life Transitions & Loss

Lauren has always been drawn to the edges of life — the places where change is unavoidable and the old ways of coping no longer work. She brings her full depth of experience to work with clients navigating divorce, career change, major loss, chronic illness, aging, and end-of-life concerns.

Grief, in particular, runs through much of Lauren’s work. Whether a client is mourning a person, a relationship, a version of themselves, or a future that didn’t happen, Lauren holds that experience with both steadiness and genuine care. She doesn’t rush the process or move toward resolution before a client is ready.

Her breadth of experience — spanning trauma, addiction, perinatal care, chronic illness, and end-of-life — means she brings a uniquely whole-person perspective to clients in the middle of significant change.