About Me
Hailey Lauer BA MSW ASW LCSW LICSW CADC-I
(Let’s add GDip. Pysch. Couns. and PGDip. Psych. for fun too)
She/Her Pronouns
I am, in a word, relentless. I dedicate myself as fully and deeply as I can to inner work, personal growth, learning, and healing. This is the calling that led me to become a healer myself. I strive to embody compassion, intelligence, creativity, kindness, curiosity, intuition, intentionality, and reverence.
A first generation Australian, and with my share of loss and trauma, I entered the helping professions from left-field, before spending 14 years working and living in the United States. There I enjoyed training and professional opportunities that never would have happened had I stayed in Australia. I actively sought out challenges and grew profoundly as a clinician.
Based in Australia I now practice, thanks to the magic of telehealth, in both Australia and the United States.
I use the psychotherapy approaches that I most benefitted from in my own therapy. I never ask a client to do anything that I haven’t done myself or, at the very least, wouldn’t do if it were applicable to my circumstances.
I’m just as fascinated by hard science as I am by spiritual traditions and practices, which I’ve explored for decades. I see all of these things as valuable resources for the healing journey.
I came to my identity as a transgender woman (she/her) as an adult; there wasn’t much representation when I was growing up or maybe I would have arrived sooner. My gender is an ongoing work in progress, part of the broader calling to authenticity.
I also came to my autism diagnosis late, and seeing myself in this light has been a wonderful gift, if also an occasion for grief. Autism fuels my special interests: psychology, social work, music, history, philosophy, spirituality, nutrition, weight training, art, poetry, writing, social justice. I am a maximalist and any space I get to shape is filled with art and beautiful things.
I actively question and challenge myself. I hold myself to very high standards. Yet I also love to play, joke, and be ridiculous. I love the moments where my assumptions get upended.
My life purpose is to learn and to create. Practicing psychotherapy allows me to do both and, even better, help other people to also pursue their own purpose.
I’ve been active in professional communities. I was a bit of a political firebrand as chair of the Legislative Committee of the Oregon chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. I am a past president of the Oregon Society of Clinical Hypnosis, one of the U.S.’s most active professional societies for clinical hypnosis.
I have an undergraduate degree with majors in philosophy and psychology (Sydney University); postgraduate diplomas in counseling/psychotherapy and psychology; and a masters degree in social work from Portland State University.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LSCW) and Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor I (CADC-I) in the state of Oregon, and a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) in the state of Washington. I am a member of the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) as an Accredited Social Worker (ASW) under their auspices.