Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Coats.
Lauren, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I originally went to Texas A&M University to be a teacher. I taught the 6th grade for three years and found myself playing the role of counselor often with the many 12-year-olds I taught who were searching desperately for someone to listen to them. They wanted to talk about their relationship heartbreaks, their parents’ divorce, and the image issues that were constantly bombarding them in the media. The school counselor even started sending students my way to talk! I decided to enroll in the graduate program at Texas A&M Commerce to get a master’s in counseling. I enrolled thinking that I would become a school counselor, but as I began working with adults in the program, I had a professor pull me aside many times to encourage me to go into private practice because he believed I had a gift of working with adults as well. My practice grew quickly and it became apparent that clients were telling their friends about me. I noticed that I was getting lots of new couples seeking counseling primarily for conflict resolution or to work through infidelity in their relationship. The feedback I received was so encouraging! Married couples felt that I had heard each of their individual perspectives without bias or judgment and had given them practical tools to help heal their wounds in their relationship.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest difficulties in private practice is finding a space that fits the needs of your patients. Therapy requires a great deal of confidentiality and privacy, so a private entrance, waiting room, and even a private parking lot can add to the level of comfort that a person feels when they choose to try counseling for the first time.
Years ago, I told my husband that I would love to own private practice in a cute older home in downtown Rockwall near our own home. Fast forwarding to July of 2018, my current office lease was about to expire and the rent was going up a substantial amount and I was trying to figure out the best plan for myself and my clientele. Driving home one day, I happened upon a charming, older home near downtown Rockwall which was listed for sale by owner. It had everything I had ever dreamed of in a great office—a private driveway leading to a parking lot and entrance behind the building with a large deck and mature tree overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard. It was an ideal space to experience comfort and healing.
I contacted the phone number on the sign and it happened to be another female business owner that is known as a trailblazer in the area–always willing to start something new and exciting! She was quite particular about who she sold her property to because she wanted to sell it to someone whose business she was also excited about. We hit it off right away and she continues to be someone who I look up to in business. Within just a few short months, we had renovated the space to meet our needs and six additional therapists joined the team at Rockwall Counseling and Wellness. All of them are exceptional counselors with high standards of care. Their practices are flourishing and I am always hearing great things about their counseling techniques and abilities! I am honored to work with them and call them friends and colleagues.
Please tell us about Rockwall Counseling and Wellness.
My particular specialty is unique because I work with couples in a very difficult season of their life. I am meeting them at a place that is likely the lowest point of their relationship where they are feeling very hurt, lonely, and even hopeless. I love my work because I get to shine a light at the end of the tunnel where they can see a glimpse of hope. Over time, I get to witness forgiveness, and it is one of the most beautiful parts of any relationship.
I want those who feel hurt and hopeless in their relationship to know that I have seen countless couples work through infidelity and come out the other side with a deeper, more satisfying marriage than before. I like to use a visual with them: your current relationship is a badly damaged home that we must tear down. The relationship that you know and have now will cease to exist because you are going to do the hard work of tearing it down and rebuilding a new, more beautiful relationship. Just a few years ago, Rockwall County and surrounding cities were hit by a tornado and many of my clients remember well the damage that was done and now see the beautiful homes and businesses that replaced them. This is a great reminder to us that something badly damaged can be rebuilt with even more beautiful than before.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Being an only child, my parents interacted with me a lot. We traveled a decent amount of time to go camping or on various trips. In the car, we had these silly songs, we would sing where we all had a part to sing. We all laughed for a while after we sang and I remember it being a really relaxed, fun time as a family.
Pricing:
- Couples Counseling – $200
- Individual Counseling – $150
Contact Info:
- Address: Rockwall Counseling and Wellness
1024 Ridge Rd.
Rockwall, TX 75087 - Website: www.rockwallcounselingandwellness.com
- Phone: 972-742-7038
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @
rockwallcounselingandwellness - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenCoatsLPC/
- Twitter: @laurencoatslpc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rockwall-counseling-and-wellness-rockwall
- Other: other instagram: @laurencoats
Image Credit:
Lexi Meadows Photography
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