Meet Our Therapists

Kelly Taylor, LCSW, LADC & Co-Owner of Catalyst Counseling of Connecticut, LLC

Kelly Taylor is proud of her alphabet soup, currently holding three professional credentials recognized by the state of Connecticut. Kelly is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and a Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor (LADC). Kelly holds a social work masters degree from the University of Connecticut. Kelly has worked in the behavioral health field since 2009 and considers herself to be a visionary therapist, dedicated to improving the lives of others in what she has chosen to be her life's work. Kelly specializes in the treatment of substance use and addictive disorders, and trauma issues, as well as eating disorders, with a particular aptitude for working with individuals who suffer from binge eating disorder. She has experience working with individuals, couples, and families. She is an eclectic treatment provider, well versed in cognitive behavioral (CBT), dialectical behavioral (DBT), IFS (Internal Family Systems), Inner Child, and Narrative therapy interventions. Kelly has clinical training and experience assisting individuals in prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal phases of life. Additionally, Kelly has demonstrated increasing relevance with providing education, guidance, and support from a clinical perspective on today’s best parenting practices. Kelly’s future aspirations include becoming clinically competent and trained in the area of applied therapeutic psychedelic interventions which she hopes will assist individuals in healing deeper areas off inner affliction caused by trauma that for some, remain inaccessible through talk therapy methods alone. Kelly also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Arts from Southern Connecticut and has experience working as a Marketing Apprentice in her undergraduate days. In Kelly's free time, she enjoys hiking with her husband, creative writing, and playing with her little daughter Emily. Kelly is from the Central Connecticut area,and is interested in networking and collaborative opportunities that can keep her practice relevant and accessible to the needs of local communities.

Lauren Johnson, MA, LPC & Co-Owner of Catalyst Counseling of Connecticut, LLC

Lauren Johnson holds a Masters Degree in Forensic Psychology from the City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is licensed by the State of CT as a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has also completed additional graduate courses in counseling at Central Connecticut State University to further enhance her skill set. Lauren has been working in the behavioral health field since 2006 and specializes in treating those in recovery from substance use and addictive disorders, anxiety disorders, with a particular aptitude for working with those experiencing relationship issues.  Lauren is well versed in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), and talk therapy techniques in individual or group therapy settings. Lauren is a certified Trauma Professional utilizing somatic techniques. She believes in an eclectic approach in order to provide clients with the services and therapy that is tailored to their individual needs. In her previous lives, Lauren held supervisory roles in substance use rehabilitation settings and also worked in an administrative role at an agency that provided homes and case management services to the homeless population who were also dealing with mental health concerns and substance abuse issues. In her life before that, she worked with offenders being released to halfway houses and work programs and enjoyed offering therapy on reentry issues which can be stressful and cause recidivism. Lauren firmly believes that counseling is necessary to reform and rehabilitate those incarcerated in order to help them make positive life changes rather than resorting to old familiar behaviors. In 2018, Lauren was named as one of Litchfield County’s 40 Leaders under 40 for her work in the community promoting wellness and self care. Lauren is passionate about her work and has empathy for all populations, believing everyone has the power to grow and evolve into their best self. In Lauren's free time, she enjoys laughing with friends, taking walks/hikes in the beautiful Northwest Corner, watching (and subsequently yelling at) football games, attending local New England events (like food truck festivals), and cooking.