Laurie J. Watson, LMFT, LPC
In 2000, Laurie Watson founded the Loving and Living Center (now Awakenings) to collaborate with the Raleigh-area medical community by providing psychotherapy focused on sexual health and couples’ counseling. Laurie has two decades of experience with a psychodynamic therapeutic approach that assumes people's deepest needs are for connection, intimacy, and relationship. Lasting erotic sexuality in long-term relationships indicates a good balance of closeness and space between the partners. Laurie provides talk therapy for couples and individuals to find this equilibrium and restore (or gain) more happiness sexually and emotionally.
Accreditations:
- Licensed Professional Counselor
- Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
- Certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Newport Psychoanalytic Institute, CA
- Certified Sex Therapist with American Association of Sexual Educators, Counselors and Therapists
- MA, Marriage, Family Therapy, Azusa Pacific University, CA, 1989
Laurie teaches sexuality courses at local universities such as: UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and East Carolina University as well being a popular guest speaker for churches, clinical practices and medical specialties. She’s currently hard at work on her first book for women with low libido – I Never Want to Have Sex Again! A Sex Therapist Talks to Women with Low Libido. Laurie has been married for 23 years and has three sons.
The fees for the first session with Laurie costs $165 and subsequent sessions are $130; the Center offers a cash discount for those paying by cash or check resulting in a fee after discount $160 for the initial session and $125 for subsequent sessions. Most insurance carriers cover a portion of her fee as an out-of-network provider for mental health.
Meredith Pope, MA, LPC, NCC
After six years in England, Meredith has recently returned to the States and finished her internship at Awakenings. She has worked in private practice, a mediation center, churches and the non-profit sector. She believes that counseling offers a unique space to explore our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Current challenges are more easily resolved within the perspective of our greater personal experiences, internal resources, worldview, and past and present successes. She is a solution-focused and person-centered theorist. Meredith focuses on marital transitions, sexuality, and personal wellness.
Accreditations:
- Licensed Professional Counselor
- MA, Counseling Psychology, Bowie State University
- MA, Religion, Concentration: Women’s Studies, Yale University
Meredith also offers counseling within a faith perspective and is a member of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling. As a Christian, Meredith is very interested in helping people with spiritual awakening as well.
Meredith's fees are similar to the fees charged by insurance panel providers at $115 for the initial interview and $90 for subsequent sessions.