Practice Philosophy:
Lauryn Hoard is a second-year Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student at George Washington University (GWU). She approaches therapy through a culturally-sensitive lens, taking into consideration a client’s background, ethnicity, and history to ensure that care is sensitive, contextually relevant, and tailored to each client’s unique identity and history. At The Ross Center, Lauryn supports the REACH (Racial, Ethnic, And Cultural Healing) program, facilitating groups and educational programs that impact racial and cultural stress. She brings a joyful sense of humor and compassion into her work, integrating evidence-based therapies that promote meaningful and lasting change. At GWU she works with students struggling with anxiety and depression, offering a solution-focused orientation that allows clients to feel seen, heard, and valued.
Areas of Expertise:
Lauryn specializes in working with teens, college students and young adults who are experiencing racial and cultural stress, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, and mood disorders. She is passionate about reducing psychological distress and fostering healthy restorative behaviors. In both therapy and assessment, she provides holistic testing and outcome monitoring and strengths-based recommendations that empower clients to navigate life’s challenges effectively. She has experience in addressing the needs of BIPOC in our community, with a wealth of resources and interventions that strengthen emotional wellness and self-pride. Lauryn is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IP), along with other evidence-based treatments.
Experience and Training:
Lauryn earned her BA in psychology from Spelman College and is currently completing her doctoral training in psychology at George Washington University. She was recently awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Grant for her research looking at online racism and intergroup and intragroup contact, and has been awarded additional grants to study coping with online vicarious racism. Her research examines the impact of both offline and online racial discrimination on mental health outcomes, and explores protective factors for Black Americans. Lauryn has presented at multiple conferences including the Society for Research on Adolescence, American Psychological Association, The Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and more. She has held research assistant positions at GWU, the USC Rossier School of Education, and Northwestern University, and served as a social media intern for the American Psychological Association. Outside of her academic work, Lauryn is the founder of @asoulsticecollective, an instagram platform aimed at decolonizing higher level education and making graduate school more accessible for minority students.
