"No time like the present
to work sh!t out"
-Beastie Boys
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TEXAS LICENSED THERAPIST ☆ GLOBAL LIFE COACH
© Begin Anywhere LLC
F O C I
areas of expertise
Relationship Help
conflict
infidelity
dating fatigue
boundaries
divorce/ breakup
codependency
trust issues
trauma bonding
polycule issues
attachment style
relationship trauma
abandonment fears
communication
poly affirming
Adult Giftedness
chronic cynicism
perfectionism
under-achievement
low belonging
chronic boredom
empathic overwhelm
high sensitivity (HSP)
over-excitability
moral outrage
imposter syndrome
existential despair
hyperfixations
neurodiversity
Mood Issues
depression
anxiety
phobias
bipolar 1
borderline pd
explosiveness
impulsivity
panic attacks
intrusive thoughts
mood swings
dysthymia
adjustment disorder
CPTSD/PTSD
LGTBQ+ Support
queer affirming
gender identity
transition plan
coming out
partner conflict
family rejection
stigmatization
queer identity
religious trauma
partner therapy
social trauma
political trauma
kink affirming
Global Coaching
personal growth
work-life balance
decision making
coparenting
communication
career goals
accountibility
networking goals
nomad lifestyle
acculturation
making change
assertiveness
M O D E S
{ Session are 55 minutes each & either phone call, video call, or text based }
Now Accepting Clients for Virtual Sessions
ONLINE THERAPY
I am trained and licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor in Texas ( LMFT-S), and as such, I focus on treating mental health issues from a systemic lens using clinical tools. Insurance coverage is generally limited to licensed professionals, so if you want to use insurance, this is the best option for you. However, therapy sessions must occur at a Texas address, which will be confirmed at the onset of each session.
This is because licenses are issued and managed by state boards, here is the information for my licensing board should you ever need it:
Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC)
Marriage and Family Therapists Board of Examiners
333 Guadalupe St.,
Ste. 3-900
Austin, Texas 78701
Main Line (512) 305-7700
Complaints 24-hour,
(800) 821-3205
ONLINE COACHING
Coaching is an unlicensed alternative to traditional therapy and focuses less on mental health issues and more on wellness goals. As a coach , I will use a wider array of approaches to help you maintian your mental wellness or achieve some new life goals. There is no governing body and no jurisdictional limit, thus I offer this option to those who travel often, have already achieved mental health but want continued support, or are simply tired of limiting clinical approaches to ongoing life stressors.
I manage all files and platforms for coaching the same as therapy though, so you can move between the two modes with relative ease, dependant upon your current needs.
Here is link that further explains the differences between life coaching and therapy.
A P P R O A C H
I have an educational background in philosophy and psychology, have worked in neuroscience research and mental health, but now practice applied systems theory and empowerment coaching in private practice. Each of these lenses helps me identify similarities across clients, the MACRO stuff, but also see what is unique to each client, the MICRO stuff, and both of kinds of information are critical to understanding a person and their system in any kind of meaningful way.
Systems Theory
Systems theory aknowledges that your wellness is dependent on the larger context you exist in (family, work, culture, etc). These structures can be stressful so we form patterns of self protection and generally speaking, they work ...until they dont.
But we are not always aware of a pattern that is no longer working, mostly because we like to keep things the same (homeostasis). So we resist changing our patterns even if they are not serving us well anymore, then we get stuck and fall into chaos--which tells us we need to change, and this is when we will finally seek help. If this sounds familiar, reach out to get unstuck, try some new approaches, and regain your forward movement.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness techniques increases internal resources, improves self awareness, and strengthens attentional control. From a cognitive perspective, mindfulness is quite simply slowing down our mind, directing our attention to the present moment, and observing our brain activity with a nonjudgmental perspective.
Sounds simple right? Give it a try right now. Sit quitely, breath deeply and ask yourself "what am I thinking? what is my body doing? what am I feeling right now? what was I experiencing before I started this activity? If you found it difficult to do this, therapy can help you reach your goals of having more control over your mind and body reactions. Raach out new to get support for slowing down your busy brain.
Experientialism
It is hard to effect change in our behaviors without practice, practice, practice, so as we explore the inner and outer workings of experience in conversation and contemplation, we also must spend our time together actually DOING things differently. Because I use tools and techniques in session meant to provoke an immediate change in your process, you will then be able to practice between sessions what you already did in session.
This is called 'consolidating knowledge', and it speeds up the learning curve a great deal. Consolidation is so helpful because your brain has established a new neural pathway in session that can be accessed more easily between sessions, so when you practice it is more like remembering than learning. This is called 'consolidating knowledge', and it speeds up the learning curve a great deal. I cant wait to show you what I mean!
Emotion Regulation
In general, humans struggle with emotions or feelings, which stems from 2 main issues: 1) an oversensitive defense system developed to mask vulnerability, which we often see as a weakness and 2) as we grow into adulthood, we develop ever more complex feelings that seem to frighten or overwhelm us , cutting off access to reasonable parts of the brain (i.e, the amygdala hyjack) we need to understand our feelings.
Due to increased need for a structured method, I have developed a 5-step tool that when practiced regularly, helps clients become much more emotionally intelligent and better regulated in mood (because unprocessed feelings can build up into poor mood). What's more, clients also report having more empathy for those around them because they have more 'bandwidth' for feelings. If you need better control over your mental space, this tool might be a good fit for you so reach out to me to give it a try.
Attachment Theory
When we feel safe and understood by loved ones, we have a secure attachment schema that helps us feel self-confident, trusting, and hopeful about connecting out in the world. Secure attachment also provides us with an ability to understand conflict, respond to intimacy opportunities, and navigate the ups and downs of relationships with relative ease.
Conversly, attachment insecurity can make it hard to regulate emotional experiences and create patterns of codependency that stalls our social and emotional development. This means we rely too much on the behaviors of others to process feelings, which will show up as insatiable emotional needs and dysfunctional relationship patterns in adulthood.
It turns out that attachment style is not fixed, so even if we manage to enter adulthood with that secure attachment style, traumatic and difficult experiences can make us insecure and codependent, or vice versa. But attachment plasticity also means we can repair our attachment schemas when they are of the insecure type! So if you struggle to regulate your emotions and/or have difficulty maintaining stable relationships in adulthood, attachment based therapy can help you repair and get your emotional needs met.
Developmental Model of Intimacy
Me, You, and We
Building on attachment theory, the Developmental Model of Intimacy or DMI sees partner struggles as a natural symptom of our need to grow psychologically through relationships, and "falling in love" entails finding partners we think will provoke continued growth in the self. But when the "shared psychosis state" or New Relationship Energy (NRE) abates, we often begin to struggle with the differences we once found so tantelizing. And we discover even more differences along the way as we are unable to keep hiding the parts of ourselves we don't like as a relationship matures. Sound familiar?
As we struggle to accept each other's differences, we fall into internal dilemmas that are often negatively projected onto the relationship. Partners can then get stuck in a cycle of defenses, trying to control, avoid, or blame each other for the stress in the relationship. Over time, there will be many attempts to reconnect but unless differentiation can emerge for each partner, and differences can be accepted, even applauded again, partners will fall into chaos and get stuck in a conflict cycle. What is needed is better self regulation, healthy boundaries, secure attachment, accepting differences, and exploring each other's internal lives with more empathy and less fixing. Partners need to create Me, You, and We ways of growing intimacy that allows for interdependence and independent functioning.
– Dr. Harry Aponte
A B O U T M E
Yes, I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Supervisor and Life Coach. But I am also a Queer, Neuro-divergent, Gen X co-parent of an adult child, and in a long term relationship with a biracial partner, 2cd generation immigrant. We are both on healing journeys and I know personally how having consistent support can make such a difference in how it feels to be alive, to be yourself. Now that I feel fully present in my life, I pursue all things creative and growth oriented, and embrace life as fully as I can. I absolutely love animals (I have a cat and a dog), every kind of art, and traveling... my current passion is visiting World Heritage Sites every chance I get!Si
Even though I have over 50 years of living under my belt and am obsessed with all things vintage, I find technology so empowering personally, and love working online. I get to do more things, meet more people, and learn more about my clients by visiting YOUR environment (I even get to meet your pets). And isn't it lovely to not waste a single moment on commuting or setting in waiting rooms just to have a session?
S O C I A L S
R E C O M M E N D ED
media I like...
P U B L I C A T I O N S
Naylor, Lavelda (2022) Gifted Adults: Can I get a refund? Presented at the Graduate School of the University of Birmingham, UK.
Naylor, Lavelda (2018) GT Adults Issues and Interventions. Presented at monthly meeting of Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. (See presentation here)
Naylor, Lavelda (2015). Sexpectations: Communicating About Expectations for Sex Partners in Relationships. Presented at The Sexology Institute, San Antonio, TX.
Naylor, Lavelda, & Wilson, Amy (2013). Social Media Boundaries for Mental Health Professionals. Presented to Family Service Association, San Antonio, TX. http://laveldanaylor.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/social-media-use-as-a-mental-health-professional/
Naylor, Lavelda, & Wilson, Amy (2013). Modern Parenting Perspectives for Mental Health Professionals. Presented to Family Service Association, San Antonio, TX.
Pillow, D., Naylor, L., & Malone, G. (2012). Beliefs Regarding Stimulant Medication Effects Among College Students with a History of Past or Current Usage. Journal of Attention Disorder, DOI:10.1177/1087054712459755
Naylor, L., Stanley, E., & Wicha, N. (2012). Cognitive and neural correlates of the bilingual Stroop effect: Evidence from behavior and event-related potentials.Frontiers in Cognition,3, 81. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00081
David R. Pillow, Glenn P. Malone, Lavelda Bradley (Naylor), & Cristina Cadena (2010). Beliefs Regarding Stimulant Medication Effects Predict Patterns of Use in college Students. Presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
(Naylor) Bradley, L., Stanely, E., & Wicha, N. Y.Y. (2009). De Colores: An ERP study of cross-language interference using a bilingual color-Stroop task. Presented at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society, San Francisco, CA.
Bradley, L. & Pillow, D. (2009).
Pillow, D. & (Naylor) Bradley, L. (2008). Predicting Stimulant Medication Use in College Students with AD/HD. Presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, San Antonio, TX.
(Naylor) Bradley, L. & Pillow, D. (2008). Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to ADHD Medication Endpoints. Poster presented at the Spring Research Conference of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, the University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX. Awarded 3rd Place research prize.
(Naylor) Bradley, L. & Pillow, D. (2008). Investigating AD/HD Medication Endpoints. Slide presentation at the 22cd annual meeting of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Salisbury, MA.
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