LORI MAHALA, LCSW

Loving relationships start with your relationship with yourself.

Empowering, transformative therapy to help you step into the best version of yourself and flourish after breakups, when dating, or in relationships.

Many times life’s most painful moments become the catalyst for personal growth, deep healing, and living a more beautiful life.

I know this because I’ve walked this path myself.

When a relationship ends, it can feel as though the ground has shifted beneath you. The dreams you built together fade, leaving an ache where connection once lived. And in the quiet that follows, you may wonder who you are now, or if the version of you that loved so fully will ever return.

What I’ve learned, both in my own life and in my work, is that moments of heartbreak can also become moments of awakening. They invite you to turn inward. To meet yourself gently and with compassion.  To release the beliefs that say you are not enough. To learn to trust your own voice and to honor your own needs and desires.

This is the heart of my work with clients:

  • Healing the wounds that keep you tethered to the past.

  • Breaking the cycles in relationships that leave you feeling unfulfilled.

  • Helping you reconnect with the best and most authentic parts of yourself.

Because when you return to yourself, feeling whole, grounded, and free, you stop searching for love to complete you. Instead, you become the source of it. And from that place, every relationship you choose can be built on truth, trust, and ease.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK WITH ME

At the core of my approach to therapy is a belief that within each of us is an inner reservoir of strength and wisdom, awaiting to be awakened and nurtured.

Our time together is sacred, and the work we do is transformative.  I welcome laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, anger and fear, love and light into my therapeutic space.  There’s room for everything here.  It’s important that you feel comfortable to share from the depths of your soul and allow all parts of you to step into the light as it is from this place that real transformation begins.

Clients have described me as warm, empathetic, compassionate, and open-minded.  I bring my authentic self to my work, which means I also incorporate humor, sass, and, at times, a bit of kicking ass … delivered with warmth, respect, and a deep belief in your strength.  

My therapeutic approach combines the best of talk therapy with EMDR and Clinical EFT.  I’ve found that talk therapy alone often isn’t enough to bring about the deep life-enhancing healing and transformation needed for successful relationships, but this is where EMDR and Clinical EFT shine.  

Together, we’ll explore the patterns of your past relationships and identify the roots of your challenges. Then we’ll begin the inner work of healing the wounds that keep you from attracting, recognizing, and nurturing authentic, healthy, lasting love.    

This is where the deep inner work begins.

This is an invitation to stop searching outside yourself for answers and start turning inward, with curiosity, compassion, and a willingness to truly know yourself. As you begin to explore your inner landscape, things start to make sense, like why similar partners show up again and again, why certain dynamics keep repeating, and why lasting love has felt just out of reach.

Through this deeper awareness, space opens for something new. You begin to make choices that reflect your truth, not your fears. You reconnect with your worth, your needs, your desires, your voice. From this place, things start to shift. The relationships you attract, the way you show up, the love you accept. It all begins to align with the person you’re becoming.

Get the support that’s right for you.

  • I’m trained in a variety of therapy methods, allowing me to tailor my approach to your unique goals and needs. These include:

    • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help you heal from the painful moments of your life and transform unhealthy relationship patterns.

    • Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) to help you regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, and calm your nervous system (so you don’t desperate-text your ex).

    • Humanistic Therapy to deepen self-awareness, facilitate introspection, encourage personal growth, and awaken your innate potential for healing.

    • CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to change your thoughts, which changes your emotions, which leads to changing your behavior. 

    • Motivational Interviewing to help you define what you want and find ways to get there.

    • Life Coaching to help you build a life that’s even better than you imagined it could be.

    • Yoga Therapy to empower you to cultivate inner peace, balance, and a deeper connection to yourself.

    • Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky

    • Master of Social Work Degree, University of Missouri-St Louis

Ready to get started?

Let's start working toward the life and relationships you really want.