SCHEDULE ONLINE TODAY WITH LORI DUPERON AT TRUE GROUND

Heal Past Trauma. Rebuild Connection. Restore Peace.

Private Pay, Confidential, Individual and Couples Therapy

EFT & EMDR

Serving Clayton & Online Across North Carolina

Begin the Conversation

For couples who feel:

 • Stuck in the same exhausting arguments

 • More like roommates than lovers

 • Distant, defensive, or guarded

 • Unsure how to heal after broken trust

Focus:

Using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we identify your negative relationship cycles, repair emotional injuries, and build a safe, resilient bond restoring intimacy and connection.

What This Work Feels Like

This work isn’t about assigning blame or picking sides—it’s about slowing down the noise to understand what is truly happening between you when things get hard. Instead of deciding who is right or wrong, we focus on helping you both feel deeply heard, safe, and understood. Over time, recurring arguments lose their intensity, you discover and are supported in practicing fresh ways to respond to one another, and you finally start feeling like you’re on the same team again. 

Learn More about Couples Therapy

For individuals who feel:

• Overwhelmed by anxiety or hypervigilance

• Trapped by painful past experiences or trauma

• Stuck in thoughts like “I’m not safe” or “I’m not good enough”

• Unsettled despite doing everything “right” on paper

Focus:

Using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), we target how traumatic or distressing memories are stored in your brain, releasing their grip on your daily life.

Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) helps you break free from internal cycles of anxiety, self-criticism, and emotional numbness by building a secure, compassionate relationship with yourself. EFIT provides the emotional safety and self-acceptance to process deep feelings, while EMDR clears the underlying traumatic charges—giving you a complete path toward lasting mental and emotional freedom. 

Learn More About Individual Psychotherapy
Schedule a Call or Session

What Therapy Looks Like

A respectful, collaborative relationship.

Time to slow down and make sense of what has been difficult.

Research-informed approaches tailored to your goals.

Attention to both present concerns and the deeper processes maintaining them – plus future goals.

Attention to mind and body.

Practical strategies alongside meaningful experiential work and practice

A private office in downtown Clayton or virtually from the comfort of your home.

 

Who I Work With

With individual clients my expertise is on navigating anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties and life transitions.  Recovering from the effects of PTSD and complex trauma are also within my focus and EMDR is one of the tools we can use to address htis.  I also have significant experience supporting people experiencing suicidal thinking.

With couples, I find my clients often come in frustrated and unsure of whether there is hope for the relationship.  They often feel they are more disconnected than connected in their most intimate relationship.  And often couples come in as their last ditch effort to work things out.  I know from experience it is possible to come back from the brink and reclaim your partnership or marriage. 

An Invitation

Whether you are seeking therapy for yourself or for your relationship, the first step is simply a conversation. If you would like to explore whether working together is a good fit, I invite you to schedule an initial consultation or you can request an first appointment.  If you like you can register for the client portal and manage your appointments online or call this number:

 919-307-9017

 

Unsure about how to squeeze time for you into the day? Want that one hour of you-time, but can’t find it? 

To help you put first things first, I offer morning, evening and weekend appointment times to accommodate your schedule. Please call if early mornings would work best for you.

Are you at a transition point? Feeling pressure and wondering if you are in the right place in life for you?

Sometimes in life, the path ahead is unclear.  With supported exploration, you will rediscover the clarity you need to move forward with purpose, hope and courage.

I specialize in helping individuals and couples stay grounded on what is most important to them while finding new and more beneficial ways to navigate life’s challenges.  

TAKE THE FIRST STEP 

LORI DUPERON, MS, LMFTA

I am a mature clinician familiar with the long arc, twists, and turns of life. I bring a realistic perspective to mental health and wellness.  My work is grounded in approaches with demonstrated effectiveness. My training includes the top organizations in the field including the International Center for Emotionally Focused Therapists (ICEEF and the international association for EMDR (EMDIRA).  My education includes an MS in marriage family therapy,  a law degree (JD) and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from UCLA.

My background is diverse providing many points of reference for understanding the challenges, professional and personal, you may be facing. I enjoyed a career with director-level positions in technology management and intellectual property, working and living in several countries. I have also founded several non-profits and coached small business owners. 

I am also a creative and artist – in my early career, I was a professional concert dancer and choreographer touring internationally and directing an Emmy-award-winning company. And I am an immigrant from Canada to the United States and haved lived and worked in Europe.

The COVID epidemic shifted my professional focus to mental health, and I assisted in the successful roll-out of the 988 national suicide and crisis line in addition to working in COVID testing services. For six years, I also provided peer support for individuals and couples facing head and neck cancer. Inspired by the work and the strides forward I had made with my therapist, I  completed graduate studies in Marriage and Family Therapy.

I provide mental health, wellness, consulting and education services for couples and clients who place a high value their privacy and mental health. I see clients in person in Clayton and online throughout North Carolina, practicing under the supervision of Tracey Frink, LMFT-S.

If you are suicidal or in crisis, please call or text 988 for confidential and immediate assistance.

Individuals
Couples

Couples Therapy – Relationship Repair

Individuals – Trauma, Relationship Loss, Persistent Depression, Anxiety, and Life Transitions

My practice is private pay. This allows us to focus on your needs and goals with increased flexibility and privacy.   Former clients please reach out to me personally if financial arrangements are needed.

For individuals, if requested, I will provide a super-bill for your insurance. If you have Medicare or Medicaid coverage, I will provide referrals to meet your needs.

 

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International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT), member

American Association of Marriage Family Therapy, member

Training:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) EMDIRA certified training

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT) – ICEEFT Externship Certification Track and Supervision

Attachment Injury Repair Model within EFT – Betrayal and Infidelity (AIRM)

Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT)

Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT)

Solution-Focused Training – Future-Oriented and Strengths-Based

Clinical Trauma: Mastering Polyvagal Theroy

Yoga for Trauma

Mindsight Approach to Interpersonal Neurobiology, Dr. Dan Siegal

Professional Course in Positive Neuroplasticity, Dr. Rick Hanson

LivingWorks safeTALK Suicide Prevention

Vibrant 988 Lifeline Crisis Training

Non-Violent Communication Training

Mindful Self-Compassion Training (MSC), Dr. Kristin Neff