About Lauren Manning, MD

I'm a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist with a relationship-centered approach to care. I believe that healing begins when we feel seen, understood, and safe enough to be our full selves.

I care for patients and families who feel stuck, disconnected, or discouraged, especially those who have tried treatment before and left feeling like something was missing. I aim to help patients better understand themselves, reconnect with their inner strength, and live in a way that feels more aligned and whole.

My approach is grounded in the principles of trauma-informed care and blends psychotherapy and collaborative medication management. At the heart of my philosophy is a belief in each person's innate capacity to heal.

Becoming a mother deepened my empathy for parents navigating uncertainty and fear. Working with children has taught me the value of playfulness in therapy and the importance of listening for what's not being said. My background in family therapy helps me recognize the relational patterns beneath individual symptoms, and I've come to see that most parenting behaviors, though sometimes misunderstood, are rooted in love, fear, and a deep desire to protect.

Dr. Lauren Manning at Great Meadow in Acadia National Park

Outside of work, I live on Mount Desert Island with my husband and daughter. My daughter, with her curiosity, courage, and delight in the world, reminds me every day that even in a world marked by inequality and suffering there is always space for joy, wonder, and hope.

We spend our time hiking the trails of Acadia, gardening, and enjoying Maine's wild coast. I love kayaking, quilting, reading with my book club, and yoga — hobbies that help me slow down, stay grounded, and pay attention to what matters.

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
— from The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

Listen to the author read the full poem here

Training and credentials

  • Board certified in general psychiatry

  • Board certified in child and adolescent psychiatry

  • Fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry, Maine Medical Center

  • Residency in general psychiatry, Maine Medical Center

  • MD, Tufts University School of Medicine, Maine Track Program

  • BA in behavioral neuroscience, Connecticut College

  • Training in Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT), Mentalization Based Narrative Exposure Therapy (MBNET), and Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE)

  • Integrative medicine training including Harvard Medicine Mind-Body Medicine and the Leadership and Education Program for Students in Integrative Medicine