Going Her Own Way Yields Positive Results

Lauren Butler has created a personal and professional win-win by combining the work she loves with filling a void for the community that’s become her family’s home.

The Marco-area resident is a clinical psychologist who recently opened her own mental health practice, Southern Shores Psychology Center. The office is located near the intersection of Collier Boulevard and U.S. 41 in the Mustang Center.

“I specialize in treating and assessing children through adults,” said Butler, who began accepting patients in February. “My location was purposeful to serving Marco Island families who’ve had a significant lack of access to mental health services relative to the rest of Collier County.”

Possessing a doctorate in psychology from the University of Indianapolis, Butler has worked in that field for about ten years. Before moving to this area in 2023 with her husband Colin and their two small children, the family lived in Indianapolis, where her primary job was as a staffer at an Indiana State Psychiatric Hospital.

“That was the highest level of mental health care, but I had also worked in outpatient care,” explained Butler. “But when we decided to move to Florida, I switched and worked for a community mental health company that's nationwide, with offices in Indianapolis and Florida.”

In that job, psychological testing, “assessing for IQ, ADHD, autism, just understanding what's going on with a person and their mental health, etc.,” was the focus, she said. Clinical interviews were conducted via video conference, with patients then needing to travel to Orlando or Brandon to take the test.

Ultimately, she found that process to be lacking, a belief that helped drive the decision to open Southern Shores.

“I would get testing data back and telehealth meet with them again,” said Butler. “But I found that I really wasn't able to help anyone here because so few patients were willing to drive four to five hours for testing.” She also said demand far exceeds nationwide supply, where the pool of psychologists who provide testing is concerned, a situation that left her with an eight-to-12-month appointment backlog.

There were two additional circumstances that motivated Butler to become a private practitioner, one being location and the other being the availability of services.

“I live near the Tamiami (Trail) and Collier (Boulevard) intersection and my daughter goes to school on Marco Island,” observed Butler. “My parents are on Marco Island. We're involved in the extracurriculars on Marco Island. We feel very closely tied to that community, even though we live off-island. And if you pull up a map and search for ‘psychologist,’ there is at least one on the island. Beyond that, there are really none within about a 15-mile radius. There are no testing psychologists that are easily accessible to Marco Island families.”

“So with that combination of things, I decided to try going off on my own and to really specifically be able to help Marco Island families because otherwise they're driving like 45 minutes to an hour to get help,” Butler said.

At the heart of her therapy approach is an emphasis on establishing safe, trusting relationships with patients. Butler said that while the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy and other approaches to helping patients has been demonstrated, there’s an additional element that is essential for treatment success.

“There's a lot of research to support that these treatments work,” she said. “But what research has consistently demonstrated, beyond that, is that it's actually the therapeutic relationship that is the most healing. It doesn't help if you don't trust your therapist. You have to be able to truly trust in someone to let them into your inner world, to what your thoughts and your feelings are.”

Psychological testing is an important tool in her treatment process, in part because it can answer questions that are otherwise difficult to address.

“It helps people feel very, very understood, whether it’s, ‘Why am I struggling, why is my kid struggling, and then what to do about that struggle,’” said Butler. “I would say it was ingrained in me from an early age to care about people's mental health. Then I became aware of what testing is and the types of questions that it answers. I think it's a fascinating profession, being able to put puzzle pieces together to understand how to best help someone move forward.”

Her work with children, adolescents, and younger adults embraces helping them deal with depression, anxiety, trauma, acting-out behaviors, and other life challenges. That includes promoting healthy relationships and developing effective communication skills within their families and with peers.

Aiding families struggling with infertility is another specialty.

“My husband and I are very open and transparent about the fact that we're an IVF family,” she said. “We have two children born via IVF. There really aren't a lot of mental health providers that specialize in coping with the challenges that come with infertility. So that's one particular passion of mine, having lived it.”

Colin Butler is part of his wife’s practice. The former school principal became an educational consultant after moving to Florida and he’s utilizing those skills to enhance her children’s psychological testing services.

“If I'm testing a child and they've received a diagnosis that impacts their learning, such as dyslexia, ADHD, or dyscalculia, which is a math disability, most parents have no idea what to do with that information,” she said. “They'll ask, who do I go to, what do I ask for, does this mean that they have this disability, etc. I can answer some of those questions, but my husband can address them even better because not only was Colin a former school principal, but he was actually the special education liaison of his school.”

Virtual appointments are available for most services.

Southern Shores Psychology Center is located at 12250 E. Tamiami Trail, Suite 202. For more information, please visit www.southernshorespsychology.com or call 941-487-0772.