If ever a mental health practice was aptly named, its Lifespan Counseling. From toddlers to seniors, seeking to heal from every possible life occurrence, Lifespan Counseling is sure to have a practitioner who can help.
“I suppose it sort of chose me,” said Laura Kinney, Lifespan Counseling's founder and co-owner.
Kinney didn’t intend to work in mental health. She was pursuing a degree in social work when a seemingly fluke class for a degree requirement catalyzed her love for the hands-on work of therapy. 20 years later, she’s a licensed mental health practitioner with a flourishing practice and a wide array of expertise, having cared for domestic abuse and assault victims, students in educational settings, and those in emergency scenarios with mobile crisis response teams.
Kinney’s time in community mental health was a prelude to opening her own practice. She made the leap with her husband David Dover, who, having a rich background in military service, oversees the operational side of things. The couple opened Lifespan Counseling in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, which was timely as their team was able to aid many struggling post-quarantine.
“We see all ages. We really mean the lifespan, it’s true. The whole lifespan,” said Kinney, adding about post-COVID care, "The biggest change — and it might not be what most expect — is that people are heavily gravitating toward in-person service. We’re done being quarantined. They want that human connection.”
Connection is a theme that’s woven throughout Lifespan Counseling’s company culture, attracting many patients and causing the company to quickly grow. An initial rented space didn’t last long before they moved their central office to a large space on 86th and Dodge in 2023. This past October, they again expanded with an additional office in Elkhorn.
The two locations employ over two dozen therapists, a medical team, clinical supervisors and administrative staff. Today, Kinney has largely stepped back from patient care to better focus on training, mentoring, and developing others. She is passionate about searching for counselors to add to her practice, whom are the best of the best. She manages a lot, but finds great value in connecting trained therapists to wise advisors.
“I do a lot with training and development,” explained Kinney. “I think counselors are formed by being surrounded by mentors in various stages of their career who can advise them. We are always investing in the training of our staff. We really want the best. That’s always our goal, to be on the forefront of results.”
The team-centered group model she utilizes — with both mental health practitioners and medical professionals working on the same team — has been largely successful, a comprehensive take to wellbeing that is well rounded and unmatched. Kinney leaves no stone unturned when it comes to therapies available to Lifespan’s patients, offering a vast range of cutting edge services for all ages, including Brainspotting and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a technique using eye movement to help process trauma.
For 2025, Kinney and the Lifespan Counseling team see only potential. Whether it’s more locations, adding to the therapy staff, or exploring new treatment options, Lifespan is solidly fixed in the Omaha community and here to stay.
For more information on Lifespan Counseling, visit LifespanCounselingNe.com.
We see all ages. We really mean the lifespan, it’s true. The whole lifespan.
We are always investing in training our staff... to be on the forefront of results.