Hidden Gems: Meet Lauren Kiser of LK Institute

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Kiser.

Hi Lauren, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my career working in high-acuity treatment settings with clients facing trauma, eating disorders, substance use, OCD, and complex personality disorders. I was in director-level roles, leading clinical teams, and managing care in environments where the stakes were incredibly high.

Everything changed when I got trained in EMDR. I started using it with my clients and quickly saw a major shift in outcomes. The data backed it up too. I was getting better clinical results than my colleagues not using EMDR. That was the beginning of what became an obsession for me: mastering EMDR and learning how to use it beyond just trauma, applying it to complex, co-occurring issues.

But I hit a wall. I was leading a team of therapists and wanted to train them in EMDR, but corporate red tape kept getting in the way. It felt like I had found something that could truly change lives, and I wasn’t allowed to share it. After watching too many clients lose their lives, and too many families lose someone they loved, I couldn’t do it anymore.

So I walked away. I left a stable, comfortable leadership role to start LK Institute. I had no money and rented the smallest office I could find in a part of town I didn’t even like. I used furniture from my own living room to make it functional. I begged the landlord to let me sign a six-month lease because that’s all I could afford if the business didn’t make it.

My first public EMDR training had three people, and I was thrilled. Slowly, it started to grow. Eventually, my husband left his job to help me because I couldn’t afford to hire staff. We built the business together around the mission that had pulled me out of the old system: giving therapists the tools to truly help people heal.

Today, we’ve trained thousands of clinicians across the globe through full certification programs, advanced courses, consultations, and clinical intensives. We specialize in helping therapists work with clients who haven’t found success in traditional therapy. It’s still the same passion that started it all, and we’re just getting started.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth? Not one second of it.
The anxiety and fear of leaving my corporate job were massive. There were more sleepless nights than I can count, staring at Excel sheets trying to figure out if we’d make it through the month. We ran into wall after wall because we didn’t have the financial backing most people start with.

I’ve learned that while money matters, it can’t be the driving force behind every decision. I’ve learned the hard truths about burnout. And honestly, I probably should have gotten an MBA alongside my PhD. Along the way, we’ve built relationships we deeply value. We’ve also experienced betrayal from people we never expected it from.

I’ve had to live in the tension between relentless pursuit and letting go. No decision is ever easy. Failures happen. So do hard-earned successes.

There have been very few easy days, but I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built and what we stand for.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about LK Institute?
LK Institute is a counseling practice that addresses a variety of issues using different modalities, but with emphasis on EMDR. We provide training to therapists internationally. We focus on treating the core issues and not just talking through or coping with symptoms.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love seeing people heal and experience happiness. It is a big driver for me to see chaos move to order.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.LKinstitute.com