Hello! I am a licensed professional counselor (LPC) serving individuals in Pennsylvania. I have a master degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and postmaster in Art Therapy. I hold an undergraduate degree in Social Sciences with a major in Psychology. I have worked with individuals from age 4 up to 70+ years old. I aim to provide individualized trauma informed care to those seeking help to overcome individual barriers. I have a therapy dog in training named Apollo.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, I like to provide time for simple question and answer where we can begin to build rapport and explore what therapy will be like and whether it is a good fit. I believe in listening to your gut feeling, after all, it is your second brain, and after a consultation you can then make an informed decision about whether this therapeutic alliance will work for you and whether you wish to pursue therapy with me. The success of therapy is reliant on a healthy therapeutic relationship between client and therapist.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Having worked in various areas of the field, I have a multitude of experience and am eclectic in my approach as to tailor to the needs of treatment planning on an individual basis. I lean heavily on body-mind medicine with a bottom-up approach; working to address the entire person (not just a symptom but the WHOLE person) and addressing problems at their core. Everyone is unique and there is never a "one size fits all" approach. I offer a safe, strength based, individualized approach to therapy. I believe deeply in the phrase "Therapist lead, client driven".
About Leah Leslie
Address
296 Chestnut Street, Meadville, PA, USA Suite 211Appointments
Virtual & in-person
My treatment methods
Mind-body approach
I believe that the mind and body are ever connected; what impacts the mind emotionally, affects the body physically. All disease, whether mental or physical in nature, stems from dis-ease in the mind. Thus when we treat disease I believe in treating it at it's origin; a bottom-up therapy model aimed at targeting trauma (upsetting/confusing events) and it's secondary impacts which may cause upset to the physical body (somatic complaints, GI distress, etc.).
EMDR
EMDR is another bottom-up approach that aims to target physiological impacts of trauma and help to clear or neutralize trauma impacts by way of bilateral stimulation. EMDR is very helpful for those who have a history of trauma (upsetting/confusing events) and experience physiological impacts such as feelings of panic/distress and or individuals who experience blocks in talk therapy approaches. EMDR helps to move through barriers in which talk therapy struggles to alleviate on it's own.
Trauma Informed Care
It is my opinion that most ailments of the mind and body spawn from trauma experiences and therefore, trauma informed care is a must when addressing individual needs in therapy. Trauma can be experienced on a spectrum; what is traumatizing to one may not be for another and thus it is not the event per se but the reaction to it. Trauma informed care is the precursor to developing and establishing rapport as well as identifiable treatment goals and objectives that meet the individual at their current level of functioning, scaffolding treatment goals as they progress and develop a greater window of tolerance through gradual exposure.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
The cognitive triangle best represents the CBT approach; how we think, influences how we feel and how we feel, influences how we behave. All behavior is motivated by something. Helping clients to understand this connection via their personal experience helps to create personal insights and gain awareness of cognitive distortions, cognitive dissonance, and the relationship between their own thoughts, feelings and responses perhaps contributing to negative patterns of interactions with themselves or others.
