Lara "Lulu" Schmid graduated with a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Texas Christian University, holds a School Counseling certification from the State of Texas, and is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor-Intern (LCDC-I). She is currently a Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate working towards full licensure in Texas.

 

Lulu has over a decade of experience working with children and their families as an educator in Fort Worth ISD and Arlington ISD. During her graduate studies, she spent a year working with diverse populations at FWISD’s Family Resource Center. There she received supervision and direct experience utilizing play therapy to assist children experiencing social, emotional, relational, and behavioral issues. She also had additional training in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) through TCU’s graduate program. Lulu also spent time assisting young adults at TCU’s Substance Use and Recovery Services center. While there, she used her foundational Solution-Focused approach and aspects of Motivational Interviewing to help clients envision and implement change. Additionally, she spent a year working with the counseling staff at Stripling Middle School here in Fort Worth, helping children and their families adapt as they returned to school, post-Covid.

 

Lulu is passionate about working with children through play. Her empathy allows her to connect, and she finds immense joy in establishing trusting relationships that facilitate growth and healing. She approaches all clients with 100% acceptance and creates an environment where children can use play to express and process the challenges they are facing. She believes parents/guardians are a crucial part in the therapeutic support system and utilizes acquired skills from counseling and her twelve years of teaching to facilitate communication and positive interactions between family members. Whether working with children, adolescents, or adults - Lulu is dedicated to building judgment-free, positive relationships and strives to meet her clients where they are, because she believes that her clients are the experts in their lives. 

 

A note from Lulu:

Hello! As a parent of two grown boys (ages 19 and 27), I recall the times I needed counseling support. Whether it was for myself or for the challenges my children faced, collaboration with an authentic and empathetic counselor has tremendous healing power. When I’m not pursuing my passion for helping, I thrive by connecting to nature and love to garden. My husband and I visit our oldest son in Boulder, CO as often as we can to go hiking and camping (he is an avid outdoorsman and adventurer). We also love visiting our younger kiddo in Oregon where he is a first-year college student and enjoys skateboarding and exploring the Pacific Northwest. I count myself so lucky to have been a part of their journeys into adulthood and would celebrate the opportunity to work with you and/or your child!