Laura Van Wyk, LCSW, MA
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker licenses in New York State, Colorado, and soon to be licensed in Wyoming. I received my social work degree from New York University in 2009. I also have a Master’s Degree in International Political and Economic Development from Fordham University which I earned in 2003 and my undergraduate degree in international relations from American University in 2000.
I have practiced in diverse settings since earning my social work degree. I spent over six years working at Rikers Island as a mental health clinician for the most severely mentally ill women and men detained on the Island. I then went on to work in public defense at the Legal Aid Society where I was assigned as a mitigation specialist in the original team of the Homicide Defense Task Force. In addition to working in forensics, I have worked in various outpatient mental health settings throughout New York City counseling individuals, families, and couples.
I specialize in working with clients around sexuality issues. These included those who are engaged or interested in exploring kink, BDSM, ethical non-monogamy, and swinging/lifestyle. Particular communities that I work with are sex workers and the LGBTQIA+ community (with an emphasis on gender identity and transition issues).
I am an AASECT (American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists) certified therapist as well an EMDR therapist (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and EMDRIA approved provider. I have completed training in KAP with PRATI in March, 2024. I am particularly interested in working with those who are exploring their sex lives, whether it be individually or with a partner(s). I work with individuals who have experienced sex being used in a way that has caused trauma to them. I am passionate about helping individuals not only work through that trauma but develop a healthy relationship with sex.
We are all organic beings–even though trauma, depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles can often make us feel fragmented, disconnected from the world, and untethered from ourselves. However, we all have our inner healer and wise human inside us that will always lead us back to our true inner north. I believe that wise person inside us and our inner healer in our sacred. Our sacred is a connection to who we are–not the outside influences, stimulations, and insidious messages from all parts of our lives that are constantly pulling us towards who they want us to be. Plant medicine–psychedelic medicine–can be a very powerful tool in helping us come back to the inner wise healer when we’ve lost tether to it. Our journey of finding our way to our inner wise selves, or connecting back to that self again, cannot be done in a vacuum. I don’t believe we can truly connect to that sacred self if we aren’t also connecting to all of the living things around us–whether it be the communities we are a part of or the animals, plants, and spirits that share this earth with us. When we isolate the living to only human beings we isolate ourselves from all of the ways we not only heal but also find value in what it is to wake up every morning and be a part of the entire world of the living. We are never truly alone or misunderstood if we are able to find peace and community with all of the life and spirit that surrounds us and nurtures us and feeds us. We are also never truly healed or engaged in self-care and compassion, in my opinion, if we aren’t also taking care of the spirits, plants, and animals around us.