Lara Ashbaugh, LPC

Lara Ashbaugh is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Missouri with 10 years of experience offering therapy, supervision, and teaching. She has supported people facing depression, anxiety, relationship concerns, parenting challenges, career transitions, OCD, and ADHD, and has worked extensively with individuals who have experienced physical trauma or emotional abuse. One of her clinical strengths is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which she uses to help clients develop emotion regulation, coping skills, and healthier relationships.

Lara’s counseling style is warm, interactive, and nonjudgmental. She combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to address unhelpful thoughts and build values-driven action, while also drawing on positive psychology to identify and strengthen what is already working in a person’s life. She emphasizes respect, sensitivity, and compassion rather than stigmatizing labels, and she tailors dialogue and treatment plans to each person’s unique strengths and needs.

Evidence-Based Approaches for Online Therapy and Skill Building

Lara draws on several evidence-informed approaches to support clients in online therapy. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) focuses on building practical skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, making it helpful for intense emotions and relationship struggles. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) examines the links between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, offering structured strategies to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and to change unhelpful patterns. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people clarify their values and take committed action while learning to live with difficult thoughts and feelings rather than being driven by them.

Finding the right combination of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. Lara collaborates with clients to identify goals, preferences, and needs, then adapts methods so therapy fits each person rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all model. Licensed professionals and therapists often blend techniques to match the client’s progress and changing priorities.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility - sessions can occur by video call or phone, and clients may also use live chat or text-based messaging for additional support between sessions. This range of options makes it easier to access consistent care around work, family, and life commitments while maintaining continuity with a trusted therapist.