Lauren Harcarik is a Primary Therapist at Maryland Addiction Recovery Center, where she provides person-centered, trauma-informed care for individuals navigating substance use and mental health challenges. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Boston and worked directly with women veterans experiencing housing insecurity, PTSD, and substance use disorders. Lauren was later selected as a Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health Department of Bioethics, where she researched ethical issues related to mental health care and published a paper in Bioethics about the effects of anorexia on decision-making capacity. Her experiences at NIH deepened her interest in direct clinical work, ultimately leading her to pursue a Master of Social Work at the University of Maryland. She was chosen as one of eleven BHWISE Substance Use Disorder Interventions Fellows, focusing her training on crisis intervention and recovery-oriented care.
Lauren’s therapeutic approach often integrates Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and other holistic practices, always centering the strengths and goals of individual clients. She is passionate about building genuine, collaborative relationships to support long-term healing. Outside of work, Lauren enjoys time with her dog, Omar, as well as hiking, reading, TV time—whether it’s reality tv or Criterion classics—and eating sweets.
