Leigh Swanson
Leigh Swanson
(she/her)
Hi I’m Leigh and I’m a therapist who shows up with warmth, curiosity and a deep respect for your lived experience. I work with people who feel stuck, anxious, overwhelmed or unsure how to move forward. In our sessions you’ll find space to slow down untangle what’s going on and start making sense of things in a way that feels real and honest. A lot of what we do is about making room for the hard stuff while also learning how to show up for your life with more openness more intention and more connection to what really matters to you.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In our first session we’ll slow things down and just get to know each other. I’ll ask some questions about your history and what’s bringing you in but there’s no pressure to share everything all at once. It’s really about starting to build a sense of safety and trust so you can decide if this feels like a good fit. You can ask me anything and we’ll talk about what you’re hoping for from therapy. My style is warm, curious and collaborative and we’ll go at a pace that feels right for you.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
What stands out about my approach is the balance I try to keep between being deeply compassionate and also really practical. I use evidence-based methods like CBT, ERP, and ACT that are known to get results, but I never forget that you're a person, not a diagnosis or a checklist. I bring a wide range of clinical experience to the work, and I'm comfortable sitting with all kinds of mental health struggles, from intrusive thoughts and panic to depression, trauma, or just feeling completely lost. I'm flexible in how we work, because I know there's no one-size-fits-all path to healing. Humor often finds its way into sessions too, because sometimes laughter is part of what keeps us going.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
I’m a good fit for people who think a lot and feel deeply even if they don’t always show it. You might be dealing with anxiety, OCD, intrusive thoughts people-pleasing or just this sense that you’re not living in a way that lines up with who you really are. Maybe you’ve been trying to hold it all together for a long time and you’re tired of white-knuckling it through. I work well with people who are ready to look inward, ask meaningful questions and make room for the full range of human experience , not just the comfortable parts. Whether you're here to break old patterns rebuild trust in yourself or stop letting fear run the show we’ll move at your pace and center what matters most to you.
About Leigh Swanson
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment therapy is a terrible name for a fantastic philosophy for living. It teaches us how to be flexible with our thoughts, expectations of ourselves and relationships. How can I experience my life fully, even when it is painful or difficult? This is the question that ACT tries to answer.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i)
I’m well-trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is considered the gold-standard treatment for chronic insomnia. I use a structured, evidence-based approach that typically includes psychoeducation about sleep, sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, and relaxation strategies. In my practice, I begin by assessing sleep patterns and identifying behaviors or beliefs that are maintaining the insomnia. I then collaborate with you to implement individualized behavioral changes, such as adjusting sleep windows or reducing time spent awake in bed. And challenge unhelpful thoughts around sleep. CBT-I fits naturally within my broader therapeutic framework, especially when treating anxiety or OCD, where sleep difficulties often co-occur. I find that improving sleep often helps clients gain the clarity and energy needed to engage more fully in other therapeutic work.
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
I am highly trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), which is the front-line treatment for OCD and related anxiety disorders. I use ERP to help you gradually face feared thoughts, images, or situations while resisting the urge to engage in compulsive behaviors or mental rituals. My process starts with collaborative psychoeducation and hierarchy building, helping you understand the mechanism of avoidance and ritualizing. We then move into structured, repeated exposures; starting with manageable challenges and building toward more difficult ones. Always with an emphasis on willingness, values-based action, and reduction of safety behaviors. ERP integrates seamlessly with the broader cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based strategies I use in my practice. I find that pairing ERP with work around psychological flexibility (from ACT) often helps clients tolerate uncertainty more effectively and stay engaged in meaningful life pursuits while facing their fears.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
My style is really grounded in Person-Centered work which means I believe you're the expert on your own life and my job is to help you hear yourself more clearly. I’m not here to tell you what to do but I will ask a lot of questions that help you slow down and really look at what’s going on underneath the surface. It’s a collaborative kind of conversation where I’ll gently challenge your thinking not because I think you’re wrong but because sometimes we’re so close to something we can’t see it fully We’ll spend time getting really curious about your thoughts and assumptions and how they’re shaping what you feel and do. It’s not about fixing you or changing who you are. It’s about helping you see yourself with more compassion and more truth so that you can make choices that feel more aligned with who you actually are not who you think you’re supposed to be.