Hi, I'm Lauren!

I'm Lauren Appelson, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) at Proactive Therapy in downtown Chicago. I work primarily with adults navigating anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), perfectionism, depression, and difficult life experiences. I also welcome adolescents seeking support with their mental health.

My goal is to create a space where you can better understand yourself, explore the patterns that keep you stuck, and develop new ways of responding to uncomfortable thoughts and emotions. I believe therapy should feel collaborative, supportive, and tailored to you rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach.

I offer in-person therapy in downtown Chicago and online therapy throughout Illinois.

Who I Help

I work with people who may appear to be managing everything well on the outside but internally feel overwhelmed, anxious, or exhausted by their own expectations.

Some of the concerns I work with include:

• Anxiety and overthinking: Constant worry, racing thoughts, difficulty tolerating uncertainty, or feeling like you can never fully switch off.
• OCD and intrusive thoughts: Unwanted thoughts, repetitive behaviors, mental rituals, reassurance seeking, and patterns that temporarily reduce anxiety but keep you feeling stuck.
• Perfectionism and self-criticism: Setting impossibly high standards, fearing mistakes, struggling with indecision, or feeling like your accomplishments are never enough.
• Depression and low self-worth: Feeling disconnected, unmotivated, discouraged, or overly critical of yourself.
• Trauma and difficult experiences: Understanding how past experiences continue to influence your emotions, relationships, and sense of safety.
• Emotion regulation: Feeling overwhelmed by emotions, struggling to manage distress, or wanting to respond more intentionally in difficult moments.
• Relationships and life transitions: Navigating changes, boundaries, interpersonal challenges, and uncertainty about what's next.

You don't need to have a particular diagnosis or know exactly what you want to work on before starting therapy. We can begin by understanding what you're experiencing and what you'd like to be different.

Therapy for OCD, Anxiety, and Perfectionism

Anxiety and perfectionism can make it feel like you're constantly working to prevent something from going wrong. You might replay conversations, seek reassurance, avoid making decisions, or spend more time than you'd like trying to feel certain that you've made the right choice.

For people with OCD, these patterns can become particularly consuming. Intrusive thoughts, compulsions, and mental rituals can take up significant time and energy, even when you recognize that they aren't helping.

I have experience using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), an evidence-based treatment for OCD that helps people gradually approach feared situations or thoughts while reducing the compulsive responses that maintain the cycle of anxiety.

My approach also incorporates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which can help you develop greater flexibility in how you respond to difficult thoughts and feelings. Rather than waiting until you feel completely certain, confident, or anxiety-free, we can work toward helping you make choices that reflect what matters to you.

Whether you're struggling with OCD, perfectionism, or more generalized anxiety, our work can help you build a different relationship with uncertainty and create more room for the life you want to live.

What Working Together Looks Like

My approach to therapy is relational, strengths-based, and trauma-informed. I believe a strong therapeutic relationship is an important part of meaningful change, and I want you to feel comfortable being yourself in our work together.

Therapy with me may include learning practical tools, exploring the origins of longstanding patterns, practicing new responses to anxiety, or slowing down to better understand what you're feeling in the moment.

I value both the practical and emotional sides of therapy. Developing new skills can be helpful, but so can feeling genuinely understood and having space to explore experiences you've struggled to make sense of.

Creative Approaches to Therapy

I also bring a background in expressive arts therapy, which has influenced how I think about emotional expression and the therapeutic process.

Earlier in my career, I incorporated drawing, painting, ceramics, and other forms of creative expression into individual and group therapy with youth in community-based settings.

While not every client wants or needs creative interventions, this experience has helped me develop a flexible approach to therapy. Sometimes exploring something in a different way can help us access emotions or perspectives that are difficult to put into words.

Experience & Approach

I earned both my Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago, completing the advanced clinical track of my graduate program.

Before joining Proactive Therapy, I provided individual psychotherapy to adults and adolescents in outpatient settings, including my own private practice.

I also worked at Compass Health Center, where I led therapy groups in an adolescent Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP). There, I supported clients experiencing OCD, anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use concerns, and complex emotional difficulties.

My experience at Compass included facilitating ERP groups, teaching ACT, CBT, and DBT skills, and collaborating closely with a multidisciplinary clinical team.

My earlier work in expressive arts therapy included supporting youth in schools, community programs, domestic violence shelters, and juvenile justice settings. I've also provided professional training on incorporating expressive arts into psychotherapy.

My clinical approach integrates several evidence-based and relational therapies depending on your needs, including:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to build psychological flexibility, make space for difficult experiences, and take meaningful action.
• Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to help clients with OCD gradually face fears and reduce compulsive behaviors and mental rituals.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to explore connections between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to support emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.
• Attachment-based and Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed approaches to explore emotional patterns, relationships, and different aspects of your internal experience.

A Little About Me

My background in both social work and the arts has shaped my appreciation for creativity, curiosity, and the many different ways people make sense of their experiences.

I value authentic relationships, thoughtful clinical work, and the opportunity to help people better understand themselves without feeling judged or pressured to have everything figured out.

If you're looking for support with OCD, anxiety, perfectionism, depression, or other challenges, I'd welcome the opportunity to work together.