About Laura
Laura Copley, PhD, LPC, is the founder of a private practice and training clinic in Virginia. Here, she works at the intersection of attachment trauma and post-traumatic growth, integrating trauma-informed treatment with relational neuroscience to support individuals and couples as they rebuild self-trust, emotional intelligence, and intimate connection after betrayal, trauma bonds, or relational rupture.
She is the author of Loving You Is Hurting Me: A New Approach to Healing Trauma Bonds and Creating Authentic Connection, a widely recognized trade book that integrates clinical insight, relational neuroscience, and engaging recovery tools to help readers disentangle trauma patterns and cultivate self-trust and authentic intimacy.
Her academic and professional work has positioned her as a leading voice in relationship trauma and post-traumatic growth, reaching a global audience of readers, clinicians, and educators.
As seen in/contributor to: Psychology Today; Psychotherapy Networker; PESI.
In her downtime, Laura enjoys fire dancing, music festivals, and spending time on her riverfront farmette with her children, chickens, and dogs.
A Message From Laura
Trauma fractures self-trust. But as we journey through our pain, we discover our unbreakable core that we can harness, not just to mend, but to also create a life woven with deep connection and possibility.
Qualifications
- 2015: PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, Penn State University
- Masters in Counseling
- License: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Virginia
Work Experience
- 2015–present: Founder, Supervisor, and Counselor, Aurora Counseling & Well-Being, a trauma-informed private practice and training clinic for therapists also wanting to become trauma-informed.
- 2011–2015: Counselor and Clinic Supervisor, Penn State CEDAR Clinic, a counseling center for clients and training Masters-level clinicians
- 2007–2012: Counselor, Family Preservation Services
Publications
- Copley, L. A. (2024). Loving you is hurting me: A new approach to healing trauma bonds and creating authentic connection. Balance.
- Copley, L. A., & Daniels, A. D. (2023). How friendship predicts post-traumatic growth in emerging adults. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 45(4), 357–374. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.45.4.05
- Copley, L. A., & Carney, J. (2020). Using Gestalt techniques to promote meaning making in trauma survivors. The Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 59(3), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/johc.12145
- Copley, L. A. (2015). Perceptions of corrective interpersonal experiences in promoting post-traumatic growth in a sample of college students [Doctoral dissertation, Penn State University].