Lara Pennington, LCSW, NBC-HWC
COUNSELOR AND WELL-BEING COACH
Lara Pennington is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and certified Anthropedia Well-Being Coach who brings a direct, compassionate, and integrative approach to her work with clients. Drawing on over a decade of experience in behavioral health and addiction, Lara supports individuals in building resilience, awareness, and psychological well-being through a biopsychosocial model of care. She earned her graduate degree in social work from Saint Louis University, where she now serves on the faculty in the School of Social Work.
In addition to her clinical work, Lara has held leadership roles in both clinical and educational settings, including serving as CEO of Queen of Peace Center in St. Louis, a leading organization in women’s addiction treatment and recovery. She currently acts as the Director of Community Engagement for the Anthropedia Foundation, where she contributes to education, outreach, and preventive health programming. Lara is especially skilled at working with individuals navigating mental health challenges, executive burnout, career stress, and life transitions, including students and young adults seeking clarity and growth.
SPECIAL INTERESTS
Well-being coaching, addiction recovery, executive burnout, executive and career coaching, student and young adult coaching, community health, education and leadership development, mind-body integration
Interested in seeing Lara? Connect with one of our PALM Navigators to get started.
“After working in healthcare for many years, I believe Lara Pennington is one of the most highly skilled counselor/coaches that I have ever known. She is highly intuitive, an excellent listener, has clear communication skills, and is also incredibly likable. I appreciate that she encourages me and helps connect me with other PALM team members and services. Her expertise in the “Know Yourself” program at PALM is invaluable as she guides me towards my specific goals for mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. Lara is an amazing person and clinician, and I am so grateful for the very positive and direct impact she continues to make on my health and well-being journey.”
“In a world that seems to be spinning out of control, it was a gift for someone to have a conversation about recognizing triggers and giving me real life tools to be diligent about handling my personal stresses. The session was comprehensive and allowed me to walk away with real life tools that can make a big difference. I hope I can continue having this assistance and real conversations about managing stress.”