(she/her)
New to Grow
Welcome! I'm Leigh. I know many people are working to do their best while balancing burnout, anxiety, and the feeling that “the world is on fire.” I work with you to build self-compassion, sustainable changes, and a life that includes not only surviving, but finding moments of joy, confidence, and acceptance of who you are and how your brain works. With a neurodivergent, trauma-informed lens, I work to make my clients feel supported and heard, and focus on your experiences, thoughts, and feelings. The goal is always to help you understand how your brain works best, whether that is learning how to navigate ADHD, anxiety, depression, and/or lack of motivation, and develop concrete steps to take action towards a life with joy, confidence and being unapologetically yourself.
In our first session, I focus on feeling comfortable being able to talk to each other about what your ideal self would be. We will explore what you expect from me as your therapist, and ways that I can support you throughout our time together to help shape short-term and long-term goals for you. After our session, you will have an understanding of what you are capable of and how we will work together to create positive changes with concrete steps.
I have nine years of experience in working with children, teenagers, and adults focusing on a range of challenges from ADHD and Autism, anxiety, depression, trauma, family conflict, and managing day to day stressors. I have firsthand knowledge of moving through this world with neurodivergence, and the barriers that are present. I genuinely care about my clients, and focus on celebrating your wins, your identity, and who you are as a person with no judgement. With my training in Motivational Interviewing, Trauma-Informed Care, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, my clients have grown to thrive with what works best for them and gaining confidence in their ability to make lasting changes.
My ideal client is someone who is wanting to make positive changes in their life, but might wrestle with feelings of anxiety, burn-out, overstimulated and that your brain is working against you. If you feel like you are stuck in a cycle of wanting to make changes to "fix your life" and do more, but struggle to find a sustainable routine, try to make multiple changes that you feel like will fix everything, and then end up feeling depressed, anxious, and defeated when you struggle to follow through with maintaining all those changes at once, wondering if you are capable of doing it all, I can help. The world we live in is not always set up for neurodivergent people and people who experience anxiety. You deserve to feel joy and confident in yourself. If you are ready to break free from anxiety, quick fixes, feeling defeated and exhausted from your brain working against you, I am prepared to help you. Schedule our first session to begin your journey to a more confident you.
Strength-Based
I believe that growth comes from feeling confident in knowing your strengths and creating a concrete plan to use those strengths. It's my job to help you identify your strengths and remind you of the good you and the strength that comes from rest. I also use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to find healthy ways to respond to stress without feeling stuck and reducing rejection sensitivity dysphoria.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing focuses on helping move past feeling stuck, feeling burnt out, or feeling like you want to make changes but unsure where to start. It's my job to help figure out your "why". Anxiety and ADHD can make us feel powerless, and motivational interviewing allows us to make a plan that will identify specific, concrete steps that will outlast hyper-fixation/quick fixes to help you gain control over racing thoughts and feelings of failure from not being able to stick with routines for last change.
Gender-affirming therapy
I strive to create a space where you can show up fully as yourself, and process challenges that are important to you. Your identity will be honored and celebrated, and I actively work to create a space where you are able to feel like you can be true to yourself.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help identify patterns in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to explore feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and avoid over-stimulation. Being able to collect data on how you move through life will allow us to develop a plan to ensure self-compassion, self-awareness, and stop anxious thoughts from appearing as frequently.
Trauma Informed Care
My approach focuses on looking at your life experiences and how they shape your view of yourself, your relationships, and what trust in yourself, others, and the world can look like. Through compassion, respect, and light humor to help the journey not feel "heavy" 100% of the time, we will focus on healing while feeling safe and grounded. I am certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and creative interventions to process previous life events and move forward with confidence in yourself and the world around you.