Lauren Calder, MA(Couns.Psych)

PSYCHOLOGIST | CHILD & FAMILY MEDIATOR

Lauren Calder has been practising as a psychologist since 2005.  She is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and is trained as a Child & Family Mediator. Lauren has trained with The Australian Transpersonal Institute and Association, where she received a Certificate III in Transpersonal Counselling and Psychotherapy in 2002.  Transpersonal Psychology is the field of psychology which integrates psychological concepts, theories, and methods with the search for purpose and meaning in living.has a well established private practice in KZN and has consulted to various organisations as a lecturer, trainer and consultant.

Lauren has had a lifelong interest in the psychology of finding meaning in living and in how people adjust, face their challenges, cope and live in alignment to their dreams and values. Having learned meditation at a young age, Lauren also has a strong interest in the application of mindfulness based cognitive therapy to wellness, stress, depression and anxiety.

According to Lauren, most individuals consider therapy for a while before they feel ready to start the process. Often they commit to therapy at a time when they are experiencing a “crises in meaning”, “crises in ego” or "crises in relationship". This is a call to action. This can be the case, whether the struggles is to do with a relationship, depression, anxiety or adjustment to change.  Either way the person has a desire to find resolution or relief.  This, she says, is a necessary process in the path toward psychological maturity, humility and self-acceptance. Therapy facilitates this process.

Lauren has developed a programme called “The Mindful Way to Manage a Stressful Life” which she runs in group format.  The programme aims to present mindfulness psychology in a straight forward manner and provides participants with an accessible introduction to meditation practice for stress management.  The workshop addresses the non useful patterns of thinking that people often use to tackle emotional dilemmas and transposes this with the mindfulness approach and the process of creating acceptance.

Lauren's current passion project is called INSIGHT PROJECTS, which she founded in 2017. This is an organisation that offers interactive enneagram personality workshops that help individuals to identify their and others' healthy and unhealthy ego patterns. These patterns play themselves out in relationships, coping patterns, stress spirals and personal growth. Lauren presents these workshops privately, on retreat and to corporate groups and schools.