Denise Lacher, MA, LP

Denise Lacher Therapist

Licensed Psychologist and Director of Attachment Programs

Clinical Expertise

Denise B. Lacher is a Licensed Psychologist and the Family Attachment Center’s Director of Attachment Programs, bringing more than three decades of experience to her work with children, adolescents, and families. Since joining the Center in 1994, she has played a key role in developing and advancing the clinic’s attachment-based treatment model.

Denise has received extensive training in attachment theory, post-traumatic stress disorders, parenting interventions, EMDR, and Family Attachment Narrative Therapy. She specializes in helping individuals and families heal from early trauma, disrupted attachment, and complex relational challenges.

A respected educator and trainer, Denise has presented nationally on attachment, trauma, and the treatment of attachment disturbances. Her work reflects a deep commitment to helping families rebuild connection, security, and emotional resilience through informed, compassionate care.

Education

St. Mary’s University, School of Graduate and Special Programs, Minneapolis, Minnesota
M.A. Counseling and Psychological Services, 1994

Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota
B.A. Social Work

Professional Associations

Minnesota Psychological Association
Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children

Additional Training

  • Attachment Theory and Therapy

  • Play Therapy

  • Therapeutic Strategies for Attachment Disordered Adoptive and Foster Children

  • Treating Adolescent Attachment Difficulties

  • Parenting

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—Level I

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing—Level II

  • Pesso-Boyden Psychomotor Therapy

  • Hypnosis

  • Sensory Integration

  • Fetal Alcohol

  • ADD/ADHD

  • Dissociative Disorders

  • Borderline Personality Disorder

  • Addiction

  • Legal and Ethical Challenges in Supervision

  • Child-Onset Biploar Disorder

  • Narrative Therapy

  • Brief Therapy

Publications

  • Parenting with Stories: Creating a foundation of attachment for parenting your child. Nichols, M., Lacher, D., and May, J., 2002.

  • Presented Workshops

  • Parenting with Stories

  • Connecting with Kids through Stories

  • Family Attachment Narrative Therapy: Renewing the Mind of a Child

  • Treating Children with Attachment Difficulties

  • Attachment: It’s Basic to Life!

  • Attachment Disorder: A Comprehensive Treatment Approach for Children

  • Parents as Partners in the Treatment of Attachment Disordered Children

  • Attachment Distress in Early Childhood

  • The Effects of Foster Care and Adoption on Children

  • The Child’s Perspective: “Why I’m Behaving This Way”

  • Attachment Disorder: Diagnosis and Treatment for Children in Placement

  • Attachment and Separation

  • Cost Effective Programming for Families at Risk

  • A Comprehensive Treatment Approach for Attachment Disorder

  • Attachment Disorder and Behavior Problems in Children

  • Becoming a Love and Logic Parent