Caring, compassionate and creative

family conflict resolution specialist.

With over 20 years' experience providing services for children and families in private, non-profit, and government settings, Lauren brings a depth and breadth of expertise to individuals and families in conflict.

Her multidisciplinary background lends Lauren the ability to understand the intricacies of family law as well as interpersonal and family dynamics. This varied experience informs her practice as a mediator and therapist, and Lauren approaches each client's unique situation with compassion and clarity.  Please note that although Lauren is licensed as an attorney, her private practice is limited to the practice of mediation and she does not provide legal advice or legal representation, but can provide clients with general legal information and education.

Lauren is trained as both a community and family mediator, and meets the requirements to serve as a court-connected domestic relations custody and parenting mediator and domestic relations financial mediator under the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court Order No. 05-028.  In addition to her private practice, Lauren holds a full-time position in court-connected domestic relations mediation.

Lauren served as co-chair of the Oregon Association of Family Court Services from 2002-04, and was appointed by Chief Justice Wallace Carson, Jr. of the Oregon Supreme Court in 2005 to serve as a member of the Statewide (Oregon) Family Law Advisory Committee. 

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the Oregon Board of Clinical Social Workers, Lauren can provide diagnostic, preventive and treatment services of a psychosocial nature to individuals, couples, families, children and groups. Many health insurance plans provide reimbursement for these services, and Lauren is happy to assist clients with insurance reimbursement.

Committed to developing professionals in the field, Lauren serves as both a Field Instructor and as Adjunct Faculty with Portland State University's School of Social Work, where she teaches Human Behavior in the Social Environment.  She also co-teaches, along with Josh Kadish, Family Mediation and Mediation and Negotiation Skills Seminar as adjunct faculty at Lewis and Clark Law School.  In the Department of Conflict Resolution at Portland State University Lauren teaches Conflict Resolution and the Emotions and Conflict Resolution and Multicultural Competency in Organizations. She has provided training statewide for court-connected mediators through the Oregon Judicial Department.

Lauren believes that each human being is seeking wholeness and deserves to be valued; that sometimes we seek wholeness in ways that create internal or interpersonal conflict and initially get us the opposite of the wholeness we seek. Yet competently handled, we can transform this conflict into learning and growth, healing our selves, our families and our communities.

M.S.W., University of California, Berkeley, School for Social Welfare , children and families specialization

J.D., Stanford Law School 

B.A. Smith College , double major in English language and literature and French language and literature, concentration in psychology

L’Universite de Paris IV (Sorbonne) and L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques , Paris, France: coursework in literature and political science

The Wheeler School

National Association of Social Workers

Oregon Chapter, National Association of Social Workers

Oregon State Bar Association; member of Family Law Section and Alternative Dispute Resolution Section

Oregon Mediation Association (current member; Board Member, 2008-10)

Board Member, Oregon Family Institute

Certified Imago Therapist, Imago Relationships International

Oregon Association of Family Court Services

Association for Conflict Resolution

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom , Fellowship Recipient

Hypnotherapy Certification in progress; 60 hours intensive training completed with the Wellness Institute, practicum hours and two year Advanced Internship in  process; additional training in using clinical hypnosis in couples' therapy with Carolyn Daitch through Imago Relationships International.

Lauren practices therapy in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.

Lauren practices mediation in accordance with:

• the Core Standards of Mediation Practice set forth by the Oregon Mediation Association;
• the Standards of Practice for Family and Divorce Mediation set forth by the Association for Conflict Resolution; 
• the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct regarding the practice of attorney-mediators.