Laura Hoge

How I work

These approaches inform different aspects of my work. You don’t need to choose a method before we meet. We’ll begin with what brings you, discuss what you’d like from therapy, and consider together how to proceed.

Relational therapy

Relational therapy gives us room to explore how you experience connection, disagreement, closeness, and boundaries. We might consider a particular relationship, the expectations you bring to it, or what happens when your needs differ from someone else’s.

Our relationship in therapy is also part of this work. If something I say doesn’t fit, or you’re unsure how to tell me what you need, we can talk about that. I’ll listen to your feedback and consider my part in what happens between us.

Experiential therapy

Experiential therapy brings attention to what’s happening in the session as we talk. Alongside understanding an experience through its story, we can make room to notice the feelings that arise while you describe it.

I might invite you to stay with a feeling for a moment or explore different responses to a decision. We’ll be curious about what you notice without deciding in advance what it means. You can decline an invitation, pause, or ask to work differently.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

As a Certified Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, I bring attention to bodily experience alongside thoughts and emotions. With your consent, we might notice a change in posture, a sensation, or an impulse to move as you speak about something important.

We can explore whether paying attention in this way contributes to your understanding of the experience. There’s no particular sensation you’re expected to find, and I won’t interpret your body for you. We go slowly, and conversation can remain the focus throughout our work.

Couples and relationship therapy

In work with couples and partners, I pay attention to the interaction as well as what each person is trying to communicate. We might pause a difficult exchange to explore what was said, how it was received, and what each person wanted the other to understand.

I help make room for each person’s experience while also considering the effects of their responses on the relationship. Our work can include expressing a need, responding to a boundary, acknowledging hurt, or exploring what repair would involve. We’ll consider what matters to each of you without assuming that you share the same goals or already know how you’d like to move forward.

Grief therapy

As a Certified Grief Therapist, I offer space to explore loss and your relationship with what or whom you’re grieving. You might want to talk about a death, a relationship that has ended, or another change that carries loss.

We can make room for memories, feelings that seem at odds with one another, practical changes, or questions that remain unanswered. You can decide what you’d like to bring into a session and what you’d prefer to leave for another time. I won’t set a timetable for your grief or assume that moving forward means leaving a connection behind.

Relational Life Therapy for couples

I draw from Relational Life Therapy, developed by Terry Real, to explore how each partner’s responses affect the relationship. We can consider what happens during a disagreement, how you express your needs, and whether each person has room to speak and be heard.

I take an active role in these conversations. I might pause an exchange to help you notice its effect, put a concern into words, or consider another way to respond. We can explore how earlier experiences inform your expectations of one another while keeping attention on the choices available in your relationship now.

This work combines compassion with responsibility. Understanding a response also gives us room to consider its impact. Together, we can practise making requests, listening, acknowledging hurt, and approaching repair. We’ll begin with what each of you hopes for, including any uncertainty about the relationship’s future.