Laura Sanfillipo, LICSW

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in individual and couples (+) therapy for folx who identify as gender, sexuality, and relationship diverse (GSRD). Serving DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

People are so different. Every experience and every belief shapes the lens through which we view the world. This is why I believe flexibility is needed in therapeutic approach. I keep an ever-growing toolbox so that I can have as many options for my clients as possible. I have been trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Family Systems, Structural Family Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Parent-Child Interaction Training, and I am mindfulness-based.
I believe that the goal of all therapy is to achieve personal sustainability. I hope for all of my clients that they grow out of the need for my services by building their resources, both internal and external, so that they have the energy and resilience to manage anything that comes their way. In this age where some feel like self-care is a dirty word, so many of us need to re-learn how to attune to ourselves. We need to give ourselves permission to care for ourselves, set boundaries, and feel our feelings.
I have been a Master's level clinician since 2009 and I say that I started at the top of the intensity ladder and worked my way down. My very first mental health positions were in locked residential treatment facilities for aggressive youth. Over the years, I worked as an in-home family crisis therapist, runaway and homeless youth counselor, partial hospital school program clinician, and then as a public charter school social worker. Every step of that journey has been unique and invaluable. With so many experiences and many more years under my belt, I was thrilled to branch out into private practice in 2022.
There is so much knowledge available to us from those who came before. As a true nerd of all things that I love, I read as much new mental health research as I can, with a special passion for relationships and healthy sexual development. My current favorite influences are Emily Nagoski, Daniel Siegel, Esther Perel, John and Julie Gottman, Brene Brown, Jack Kornfield, and Pema Chodron.