​Lauren Calder has been practising as a psychologist since 2005. She is trained as a Child & Family Mediator and has completed a specialisation in Transpersonal Psychology. Transpersonal Psychology is the field of psychology which integrates psychological concepts, theories, and methods with the search for purpose and meaning in living. Lauren has a well established private practice in KZN and consults to various organisations as a content creator, lecturer and consultant. 

Lauren has had a lifelong interest in the psychology of finding meaning in living and in how people adjust, face their challenges, cope and live in alignment to their dreams and values. Having learned mindfulness practice at a young age, Lauren also has a strong interest in the application of mindfulness based cognitive therapy to wellness, stress, depression and anxiety.
 

According to Lauren, most individuals arrive for therapy at a time when they are experiencing a “crises in meaning”, “crises in ego” or "crises in relationship". This is a call to action. This can be the case, whether the struggles is to do with a relationship, depression, anxiety or adjustment to change.  Either way the person has a desire to find resolution or relief.  This, she says, is a necessary process in the path toward psychological maturity, humility and self-acceptance. Therapy facilitates this process.

Lauren has developed a programme called “The Mindful Way to Manage a Stressful Life”.  The programme aims to present mindfulness psychology in a straight forward manner and provides an accessible introduction to meditation practice for stress management. The workshop addresses non useful patterns of thinking that people often use to tackle emotional dilemmas and transposes this with the mindfulness and acceptance approach. She also offers interactive enneagram personality workshops that help individuals to identify their healthy and unhealthy ego patterns. These patterns play themselves out in relationships, coping patterns, stress spirals and personal growth. 

Lauren works largely with couples in her practice.  She says that most couples arrive for therapy, very clear that the other person is to blame for whatever is not working in the relationship.  As therapy progresses, this is usually re-understood to represent a dynamic that is being triggered by both parties.  In this way couples can facilitate each other in their personal growth rather than working against each other. This links with her interest in family systems. She has trained in Child and Family Mediation. In the aftermath of a separation, mediation assists families to re-organise themselves and to develop parenting and residency plans that best preserves the integrity of the family and preserves the best interests of the child/children in the family undergoing change.

Lauren's current passion project is INSIGHTPROJECTS, a UK-based company developing digital mental healthcare interventions and providing research and proposal writing support to healthcare innovators.