I am a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and the founder of Temple Psychiatry in New York City. I integrate psychotherapy, mindful medication management, and somatic practices with a steady, relational style. My care is shaped by years in hospital medicine, community psychiatry, and private practice, along with advanced training in trauma treatment and mind-body approaches.

I practice at Temple Psychiatry. I also founded Held Space, a Greenpoint-based collective & third space that fosters community wellbeing through mental healthcare, movement & creative practices. 

*All professional psychiatric services are provided exclusively by Temple Psychiatry. Held Space does not provide clinical care.

Welcome, I'm Laura

About Laura Temple, PMHNP-BC

I was drawn to mental health from the first time I sat in a therapist’s office as a teenager. In nursing school, psych was the one rotation that felt deeply alive. I loved slowing down, listening, and staying present through the hardest stories. Early in my career I worked pediatrics and then as a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner, which taught me how to hold intense experiences with steadiness and respect. Later, in community psychiatry, I conducted evaluations in shelters and on sidewalks, often in the middle of chaos. These years taught me that nothing is TMI, people are never their diagnoses, and dignity belongs in every room.

Living with multiple sclerosis since my mid twenties also shaped my approach. I know what it is to build a life around evidence-based care while tending to the rest of the picture. Nutrition, movement, breath, rest, community, and yes, medications when necessary. When I experienced severe panic attacks, Zoloft became one of my tools. That personal shift deepened my respect for medication as an option while keeping the horizon wide for therapy, lifestyle, and integrative support.

Why I chose this work

to lessen your unnecessary suffering and to increase your capacity to tolerate the inevitable pain of being alive. I will sit quietly with you in the darkness and we will celebrate the light together when it comes.

I consider it a great honor to be able to support you in this work.

My ultimate goal is...

I treat the person in front of me, not a checklist. Together we map what is hurting, what helps, and what is possible right now. We might use parts work, breathwork cues, and mindfulness to create a little more space inside the moment. I watch posture, breath, and micro shifts as closely as words. I will ask hard questions with loving curiosity and I will move at your pace. I care far more about safety and rapport than about labels.

My appointments leave room for real conversation. We might review labs or explore nutraceuticals, adjust medication thoughtfully, or practice a grounding exercise before we talk. I share education so you can make informed, values-aligned decisions. I also share small pieces of myself when it is useful, because modeling healthy transparency can reduce shame. Many patients tell me that this feels different from other psychiatric care they have received.

How I work

Human beings inherently need social connection. Healing rarely happens in isolation — we grow, process, and reclaim safety best when we are seen and supported by others. After witnessing so many of my patients struggle to feel safe in their bodies, around other people, and while trying new things, I created Held Space.

Held Space is designed to offer a place where you can feel “safe enough to feel unsafe” — a community of kind-hearted, like-minded individuals exploring growth, creativity, and connection together. My patients are invited to attend public offerings and to join the collective, deepening their sense of belonging and fostering meaningful connection with others on similar paths.

The role of community in healing

haunted by the past, wary of being fully seen, and ready to experiment with new ways of feeling safe enough to grow

if you are...

I would be honored to meet you.