Lauren Taub Cohen, M.S. Ed., SEP
I’m a Certified Inner Relationship Focusing Professional &Trainer as well as a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Many people ask me how I’ve come to do this work, so here’s my story…
For most of my life, I had a chronic tendency to appease and please… no matter who I was with or what job I was doing.
After graduating from Boston University with a degree in English Literature, I began working at “60 Minutes.” It was both a dream come true and… impossible to stay true to myself amidst the demanding pace, pressures and shifting schedules. So, after a few years, I left the newsroom for the classroom.
As an elementary school teacher, I was passionate about helping students cultivate self-awareness and resilience through the everyday stressors, conflicts and delights that come with learning.
These were skills I wish I had learned, so I didn’t attack myself for making mistakes and chase after praise as a way of building confidence.
In the classroom, I was giving, over-giving, and then … burning out. I ignored my body’s whispers of “this is too much.” The health issues began piling up; my body’s whispers became shouts.
So, I began working with a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP) to help my body heal.
Not only did SE help my thyroid heal, but I was also able to avoid an invasive surgical procedure. My hair stopped falling out, my digestive system began functioning, and I finally felt more energized.The heavy fog had lifted and that fun-spirited vitality returned!
During that time, I also explored this persistent pattern of meeting every request with a friendly, reflexive “yes,” even when I knew something didn’t fit or feel right.
The desire to be liked and stay connected often came at a great price… abandoning myself.
SE helped me realize how this pattern was just one of many adaptive strategies I developed in childhood as a way of trying to keep the peace, stay safe and receive affection.
The combination of these experiences inspired me to enroll in the Somatic ExperiencingⓇ Practitioner training. During that time I was also introduced to Inner Relationship Focusing.
Inner Relationship Focusing (IRF) was the missing link because, despite all the learning and healing with SE, I still hadn’t shifted my behavior. I still kept pleasing and appeasing, except now I started to beat myself up for doing so!
Inner Relationship Focusing’s gentle and empowering process helped me untangle that people-pleasing pattern.
What once seemed un-shiftable had finally begun to shift! And, that was only the beginning. I went from being highly self-critical to more on my side… from reactive and anxious to more steady and resilient.
These invigorating, beyond-what-I-thought-possible shifts inspired me to become a Certified IRF Professional and Trainer.
No more career changes - this is what I am meant to be doing!
I love helping clients go from feeling anxious, unsure and overwhelmed to living with more clarity, confidence and ease. It’s a joy to help them learn to fully trust themselves, so they can do more of what lights them up and brings them joy!
And, because of my SE training, I bring a unique trauma-informed approach to facilitating Inner Relationship Focusing sessions.
As for me, I continue leaning into the steadying support of SE and IRF because, as a friend recently put it, "Life keeps life-ing."
It's not about getting rid of how we feel, fixing it, or changing it, but rather being with our experience, just as it is, so it can shift naturally and we can move forward.
Over the years, I’ve discovered this amazing truth and that is,
What's in the way, guides the way.
The experience of having a problem is actually your body’s way of communicating something is missing and something is needed so you can live more fully and be more authentically YOU.
Curious to learn more?
Great, let’s chat! Click below to schedule a free, no-obligation 20-minute call and we can discuss if what I offer would be a good fit for you.