Today we’d like to introduce you to Reuben Lawrence.
Hi Reuben, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I originally began my journey working with youth from the borrows of New York City at Camp Joharie in upstate New York. As a college student, I would spend my summers with them, exposing them to new adventures, new skills and a new sense of hope in life. After completing my college degree, I worked shortly as a juvenile probation officer and with the organization Younglife, Boys & Girls Club and others for over 19 years here in the Atlanta area. It was at this time that I realized that I was only working to correct a problem after it developed. I was then encouraged by Dr. Margaret Weaver to continue my education, this led to be given the opportunity to begin working with teens and young adult fathers and mothers on their parenting skills as well as their relationships.
After establishing our small non-profit, FatherCare Family Services, my wife and I continued to work with churches, schools, and other community organizations. This new beginning was birth under the umbrella of our LLC, Lawrence & Lawrence Consultants Inc. lead us to opportunities to work with The Carter Center, Columbia Community Connections, and President Carter work in various communities throughout Georgia.
For thirty years, my wife and I have worked with schools, churches, civic groups, community organizations, and state governments in Georgia and across the United States with building bridges between families and their communities. He worked as the State Network Trainer and Manager for the MELD parenting programs for the Georgia Children’s Trust Fund Commission. In the early 2000’s, I worked with the Administration for Children and Families under the Federal Health & Human Services Department establishing national initiative to address Building Healthy Marriages and Developing Healthy Relationships. I co-authored nine modules of the federal “Building Strong Families” Curriculum. In addition, Reuben assisted Georgia State University with developing a curriculum for teen parents around parenting.
For thirty years, my wife and I have worked with schools, churches, civic groups, community organizations, and state governments in Georgia and across the United States with building bridges between families and their communities. These opportunities allowed us to be trained in various relationship development programs like The Gottman Method Training, Prepare Enrich, Smart Start Blended Families and many others.
Over the past 20 years Reuben has had the privilege of working with international relationship experts like Dr. John and Julie Gottman, Dr. Bernie Ortwein and Pamela Brown. He assisted them with rewriting and redesigning their curriculums to adapt to couples of various cultures. It was during this time that Dr. John Gottman encouraged him to return to graduate school and complete his degree in Marriage & Family Therapy. His work includes collaboration with Bethany Christian Services on their federally funded 2005 Healthy Marriage/Relationship Initiative in a 9-year program where he provided training, workshops and coaching for over 1500 married and unmarried couples.
My wife Sharon Lawrence and I are co-owners of Lawrence & Lawrence Consultants Inc. in Marietta, Georgia, where they practice. There we offer individuals, family, and couple sessions with them together as co-therapists and individually with just one of us. Our unique form of therapy allows couples to benefit from our knowledge as trained therapists and experience of being married for 31 years with four adult children.
My desire for building healthy relationships and families originated from the environment established by my parents. I have had over thirty years of training and mentoring in these areas, but I credit my foundation to my parents. I believe my calling and my passion is to continue to declare and promote the concept of healthy marriages, healthy relationships, and healthy families. For this reason, Sharon and I feel called to focus on assisting people in developing healthy relationships while building and strengthening marriages.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road was not always smooth. Many of the opportunities came with low or no-paying positions, from which I had to feed my growing family. So for many years, I worked with these non-profit organizations and had to keep a part-time job on the weekends and at night. There were times that I experienced feeling helpless because I didn’t have the resources needed to assist the families we worked with. At one point, I had spent a year and a half going through a dual program at the Psychological Studies Institute (PSI) and Georgia School of Professional Psychology. I was in my last semester, completing my internship and I had to drop out of school. We were paying out of our pockets and due to the birth of my second daughter, I could not continue the payments and pay for her childcare. It was 15 years, and persistent wife and an encouragement from a new friend that got me back in school. My family sacrificed a lot to allow me the opportunity to follow my calling. Many people said they were with me until the end, but they got lost in the middle of the journey.
We’ve been impressed with Lawrence & Lawrence Consultants Inc., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our focus of therapy is to assist you in being proactive in addressing challenges or concerns in your personal life, your family and/or your relationship. It involves being learners and receiving feedback as you identify what you need to become or remain vibrant. It involves mapping a course and setting goals for you so you can continue to grow. And this will be a time for you to invest in your life. It will take time, commitment, and energy. But the more you invest in you, the more valuable and satisfying it will become.
Our therapy services are strength-based, collaborative, and holistic. We place a high priority upon developing and fostering positive therapeutic relationships with each client a non-judgmental, confidential, and safe context. We are known for our co=therapy sessions, that include both my wife and I for an hour and fifty minutes of action-packed, exciting but yet challenging sessions. While we have the ability, experience and training for many things, we mainly focus on what we do best. We believe in networking with other professionals to assure that all clients get the best care possible.
We specialize in Counseling services for Couples, Blended Families, Marital and Pre-Marital, individuals, Professionals balancing home & work, Church Leaders, CEO’s and more. We have certifications for Couples, Grief and Loss, Anger Management, Midlife Crisis, PSAP, Infidelity restoration., Communication & Conflict Resolution. We are also opening up an office in Roswell in May.
How do you think about happiness?
Spending time with my family while creating new memories. I grew up in a family-oriented home, so time with family is important to me. I lost my father a year after graduating college and a brother two years later, but it’s the joyous memories of times at home, on vacations and singing in church that keeps them in my heart. That would lead to the next thing, which is seeing families restored. Helping couples find peace and ending their war.
