ABOUT

Educational Background

Lori Vann received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, graduating Cum Laude, from Pepperdine University.  She earned her Master of Arts degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from Chapman University where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Ms. Vann has been licensed in the State of Texas as a professional counselor since 2001 and a LPC intern supervisor since 2003.  She started practicing counseling in 1998 while at Chapman University's community clinic.

Experience

Lori Vann is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor who has practiced in a variety of settings including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, outpatient clinics, private practice, and the non-profit sector.  Throughout the years she has received many accolades from clients and colleagues.  She has been nicknamed the "teen whisperer" for her ability to work with challenging teen cases.

She has been a professor of psychology for both the Collin County and Dallas County college districts.  Ms. Vann has been a professional speaker since 2000 and has spoken on a wide range of topics at numerous locations throughout the Metroplex and in Hawaii, including colleges, community events, conferences/symposiums, non-profit organizations, churches, and on national radio stations, KWRD, Talk97, and WGTKAM.  In February 2012, she presented at the Christian Counselors of Texas Statewide Conference, and in March 2013, she presented at another state conference for childhood abuse & had 110 attendees.  Currently, she is supervising LPC interns, speaking throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, consulting on various media projects, and writing handouts for her clients while  managing a  full-time private practice.  She has also provided consulting services for several counselors who have questions about running a private practice or are newly licensed and are not sure what to do next in their career.
 

Ms. Vann is in the process of writing two books, one of which is on the subject of self-mutilation.  To date she has worked with over 310 individuals who have some history of self-harm, consulted on numerous injury cases for colleagues & her interns, and has given approximately 40 presentations on the topic.  She has been running a self-injury support/therapy group for females ages 13 to 18 and one for adult females.  In May 2013, she is breaking new ground by offering a support group for the caregivers of injurers.  These groups are the only groups of their kind in the DFW area.  Ms. Vann has been called the "local expert" and "guru" on self-injury.   She was recently featured in Dallas Child & Ft. Worth Child Magazines in  April regarding the topic os self injury in elementary aged children.  On June 1st, she will be offering a 6 hour self injury seminar that will cover information not previously addressed in other injury seminars. 

In addition to her area of expertise in self-injury, Ms. Vann also works with those who have boundary issues of one form or another, perfectionists, those who have control issues, people who wish to be more assertive in their daily lives, and those struggling with low self-esteem. Other areas that she has much experience with include Mood Disorders (Depression, Bipolar I and II), all types of Anxiety Disorders (Panic Attacks, Social Phobia, Gen. Anxiety D/O, PTSD), Adjustment Disorders, some Impulse Control Disorders, those struggling with substance abuse or recovery, and individuals who have a history of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual).

In June 2010, she opened up a second office so that she could fulfill her desire to provide affordable counseling to those who could not afford it using their mental health benefits, have diagnoses not covered by insurance, or did not have insurance.  She strongly believes that mental health treatment should not be considered a luxury item.  There are two full time and two part time counselors in that office. The interns are under her direct supervision and they staff cases on a weekly basis and for more challenging cases, may consult several times during the week. The interns have been able to serve financial populations that Ms. Vann is not allowed to due to contractual agreements with the insurance companies. No intern's session will ever be over $62 for the Intake or $60 for a regular session.

In 2009, Ms. Vann added mental health media consultant to her services and served as a mental health consultant for various media projects, including her most recent involving a film on relationships called Relationships 901.  She was filmed regarding her thoughts about the project and her professional experience and insight into relationships.  She was also a script consultant for the project.  In December 2009, she was added as an expert for Advice.LoveDetour.com.  A second film that she has consulted on is called Better Lived Than Dreamed by Austin Filmaker Brandon Marshall.  In April of 2010, she consulted on a public service announcement (PSA) on depression.  On July 16th, she was filmed as an expert on 4 topics for an internet TV show for WomanAnew; she spoke on sexual abuse/rape, boundary issues, self-injury, and communication-relationship problems. 

Most recently, Ms. Vann has been interviewed by CW33 nightly news ten times, CBS 11, KERA, GL (Girls Life Magazine), Hollywoodlife.com (multiple times), Dallas Child Magazine, the Lewisville Leader, The Colony Courier, The Carrollton Leader, & North Lake College's paper regarding her professional experiences with self-injurers and the support group. Chattanooga Parenting Magazine spoke with Ms. Vann for a story that appeared in their February 2010 edition on parenting teens; it was distributed to over 40,000 individuals including every teenager in that school district. In January 2010, she was interviewed for Health to You magazine regarding teen stressors and what parents can do to help. She has also given interviews for XandYCommunications/Deserve What You Want internet radio regarding boundary issues, James Rick's Full Potential radio show in California on boundary issues, Dr. Stan Frager's radio show in Kentucky regarding self-injury, and Dr. Harris' radio show in November 2012 regarding dating and self injury. Ms. Vann was asked to conduct possible television guest interviews for a local television show RAW--Real Authentic Women hosted by Janee Harrell.
She has also co-edited the book What Next???: An Honest Handbook of Single, Expecting Mothers by Sonja Dilbeck.  Finally, she has also sat on various panels as a mental health expert. 

The NEWS page has a listing of the additional projects that she has worked with over the years, including the most recent magazine articles regarding celebrities who are suspected of injuring. 
To read the newspaper articles or to watch the ten (10) television interviews, you can go to the MEDIA HAPPENINGS/NEWS
page for the links to the various media venues. 

 For a list of speaking engagements and topics, go to the Presentations page
CDs and DVDs from previous presentations are now available on several topics--Help! I am a dad of a daughter; At Risk Youth Behaviors--what you don't know might be hurting your kid; Boundaries with Kids; and coming soon Stress Management: tips, tricks, and holiday survival.  All CDs come with a handout.  E-mail Lori for more info.  DVDs-What is a Normal Teen...and how do you keep them that way?! is also available for purchase  and so Stress Management from a Christian Perspective; both DVDs come with a handout.   Go to the SHOP page to purchase the items.
 Member of the N. Tarrant Mental Health Professionals and the Speaker Co-op.