Lauren Worth Poiroux, M.S., ALC

06/12/2025

Self-care and creativity means sometimes you have to get your hands a little messy! I hope you’ve found some time to invest in your joy this week 💕

06/06/2025

I’ve been prioritizing taking time to engage in creativity and hobbies! It feels so often that I don’t have enough time in the day to do things like draw, but when I force myself to slow down and find the time, I always feel amazing after!

These drawings aren’t earth shattering in how well executed they are, they aren’t museum pieces. But wow do I feel proud every time I see them, because I’m proud I prioritized just doing something purely for fun instead of prioritizing the outcome.

I challenge you to do something that brings you joy this week, even if it isn’t “productive”. It’ll add so much to your week 🩵

06/05/2025

Happy Thursday! I hope you are having a peaceful, lovely day.

If you have a second, take a moment to savor something: the taste of your coffee, the smell of a candle, water droplets catching the light on a leaf. It’ll instill your day with gratitude and joy.

06/04/2025

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s an incredible lens to look through when considering wellness. Abraham Maslow posited that there are 5 areas of needs that we have, and only by satisfying each from the bottom up can we really start to deeply feel “wellness”.

The most basic need we need met is physiological needs: food, water, shelter. Until those needs are met, we can’t begin to feel safe and build our pyramid. When we feel safe, we then can meet our social needs: love and belonging. We need to have others in our life that care about us. Experiencing love and belonging then allows us to experience esteem, a need based in self-acceptance. When we accept and understand ourselves, we then are able to meet our final need: the need to self-actualize. This is the need to reach our fullest potential, to be the best version of ourself that’s possible.

What does this tell us? When we don’t have the needs of the bottom of our pyramid met, we don’t have the mental or emotional resources to try and meet the higher needs of our life.

This is a concept I use a lot in my sessions. Clients and I explore what needs aren’t met in their life and how they can get them met.

I had a lot of fun drawing/painting this.

06/03/2025

It’s magic to see how kids think. I did an art therapy activity with a child where we pulled a prompt card and had to each draw what it said with a time limit. We did this to work through frustration and to explore how it’s okay to not be perfect. No picture can be a masterpiece when you’re given 2 minutes to draw it, and this is an exercise in accepting being okay with that!

The coolest part of this activity is seeing how we interpreted the prompt differently. We were told to “draw a bike for an octopus”, and we had very different approaches. My picture, on the bottom, is very literal. An octopus on a bike. My client’s, the top, is imaginative. When explaining the drawing my client said that the bike is “supposed to look like the ocean”. I’d say they nailed it.

05/30/2025

BIG NEWS: WEBSITE COMING SOON! 📷✨

01/22/2025

01/20/2025

Happy 2025! It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since The Sommer House opened its doors and we welcomed our first clients. What a year it has been! So much growth and change.

I realize it has been quite a while since I gave any updates, so I will use the new year as an opportunity to share a few.

The first update is a personal one! I am excited to share that in December I married my incredible partner. I couldn't do what I do without him, so I am so very grateful for his love and support. I took the wedding as an opportunity to challenge myself by trying new art forms, such as making paper flowers. This was an awesome experience and a great way to channel stress and anxiety.

The next update is a blend of personal and professional. You may have noticed in my stories that I have taken on a new mindfulness project called visual journaling. This is the practice of using art to reflect on the day and pay attention to emotions & energy each day. I have a hard time writing my feelings, so I am trying something new! If traditional journaling is daunting to you, I'd encourage you to give visual journaling a try!

I have some exciting news to share in the near future, so stay tuned!

11/28/2024

I hope that everyone has a wonderful day filled with good food, great laughter, and lots of love!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope that everyone has a safe and wonderful day with loved ones!

Please note that our office will be closed today (11/28/4) and Friday (11/29/24). We will reopen on Monday resuming normal business hours.

If you or a loved one is in crisis, please call 911, 988, or go to the nearest emergency room for assistance.

11/15/2024

I had the absolute best time last night with my little sister at the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Gulf Coast annual Big Event! I have been matched with my little sister for 7 years, and I wouldn't trade those years for all the world!

Last night was such a showcase of commitment (and talent, as you can see!) to protecting and fostering potential within kids. It is a privilege to be able to call myself a Big Sister and have such an awesome Little Sister in my life, and be a part of something so much larger than myself.

11/11/2024

We want to wish all veterans a happy Veterans Day and give our sincerest thanks for their service.

As a mental health clinic, we know how important veteran mental health is and how often they are underserved. According to the 2023 National Veteran Su***de Prevention Annual Report, the Veterans Crisis Line from 2022-2023 made nearly 1 million contacts, including over 750,000 calls. The need is there, and we are here to help.

Support veterans. Spread the word. The Veterans Crisis Line can be reached by dialing 988 and pressing 1.

10/17/2024

When your therapist has a sense of humor and it feels like fall outside...... It's going to be a great Thursday!

Professional yapper here to help with any and all mental health and wellness needs!

Call The Sommer House at 251-343-0566 if you'd like to schedule an appointment.