

Laura Olivieri Wood
Licensed Professional Counselor
Board Approved Clinical Supervisor
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Owner and Founder of Benavieri Counseling
My Story
I started my journey into the counseling field about 15 years ago when I realized that I had the power to make a change in my own life. The vision I had for my life seemed so far in the distance. Trauma and fear had been running the show for far too long. I knew that my superpower was still untapped, and I needed to gain independence before I could share it with the world.
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Somehow it was clear to me that the key to unlocking your superpower is self-actualization. To know yourself, accept yourself, and stand up for yourself are the core experiences necessary to heal from a lifetime of traumatic control.
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This is the foundation of my work. Along the way, I met mentors, teachers, and friends who gave me tools to build myself up so that I can translate my own journey into a template for helping others. That's why all of the counselors at Benavieri are given supportive mentorship, training, coaching, supervision, and consultation above and beyond what's required by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners to maintain our licenses. It's not enough to do the minimum. We are hyper-focused on our clients' progress and achieving meaningful outcomes as efficiently as possible. That means our clients shouldn't have to pay for any more sessions than they absolutely need. Each session is devoted to progress because we are working as a team to be the best possible therapist-partners to each and every client we have the honor of serving.
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We serve a specialized population, we understand that our clients have been through some of the most difficult experiences imaginable, we take our responsibility as healers very seriously. Every therapist at Benavieri Counseling is trained in understanding complex trauma, dissociation, parenting, adaptive information processing, healthy brain development across the lifespan, working with your nervous system, and how to maintain your sense of safety and connection within the therapeutic process. We invest our hours and dollars to ensure that you are receiving the highest quality of care.
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We want to be your last therapist, it's our mission to help you gain strength from your past, thrive in the present and open up endless possibilities for your future.
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On my Podcast, Mental Wealth, I share insights and my own experience with generational trauma and leave a new legacy for our kids.
Generational trauma is the concept that family histories come with more than genetics and positive traditions, but also we inherit habits and relational patters of trauma. Without even realizing it, we are bringing forward and passing down these traumatic experiences and our children continue to reenact them in the next generation. Most of us may not even be aware of the traumas that our parents went through, or their parents, we try to hide them, protect our kids from knowing about difficult realities within our families.
Ironically, the pushing down, or secrecy, actually perpetuates the cycle.
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It’s up to every adult, especially parents, to heal from the wounds of our childhoods. We’re all doing our best with what we have, but we’re all (unhealed) hurt people trying to raise healthy new people… This podcast, is about the challenges and rewards of healing our history to stop the cycle, and how to leave a new legacy.

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Education and Training
2022
Arizona Counseling Association
Clinical Supervision Certificate
2022
Agate Institute with Ana Gomez
EMDR Sandtray Specialist Certification
2022
Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners
Licensed Professional Counselor
2021
Dragonfly International Therapy with Sarah Jenkins
EquiLateral Equine Assisted EMDR Protocol
2021
Agate Institute with Ana Gomez
EMDR Therapy with Children
2021
National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine
Advanced Master Program on the Treatment of Trauma
2020
EMDRIA International Association
Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR) Trained Provider
2020
Dragonfly International Therapy with Sarah Jenkins
Healing the Whole Self - Treating Dissociation in Conjunction with EMDR
2019
Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners
Licensed Associate Counselor
2018
National Board for Certified Counselors
National Certified Counselors Certification
2017
University of Phoenix
Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
2013
University of Phoenix
Bachelor of Science in Human Services and Management
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1600 W CHANDLER BLVD. SUITE 100. CHANDLER, ARIZONA 85224