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Leyla El-Baba

Leyla El-Baba

(she/they)

LCSW
4 years of experience
Authentic
Empowering
Solution oriented
Virtual

Well, hello there :) It is nice to see you here. Are you struggling to exist within the constructs of late-stage capitalism? The pain inside of you is reflective of the collective chaos outside of you. Your feelings are valid. 🫂 If this resonates with you, look no further. Your anti-capitalist therapist is here. As a potential client, you should be aware of the lens I look through + the privileges I hold. I am white, cis-gender and queer. I am Autistic, ADHD and a survivor of the mental health industrial complex. I am the eldest daughter of an immigrant. I am in the colonized portion of Wabanaki territory now known as Mount Desert Island, Maine. My clients utilize therapy to zoom out on societal systems and structures and delve deep into their own psyches. Session time will be spent exploring your family system, attachment style and how systems of oppression such as ableism may have influenced your access to the support you have always deserved. The therapeutic bond we build is where the work starts. I serve as a warm witness as you begin the work of unlearning & healing. My approach to therapy is transpersonal, humanistic and deep. As our work together evolves, I will begin to recognize your patterns in relationship. My clients are Neurodivergent (many times undiagnosed/late diagnosed), queer, intelligent, self-reflective, symbolic thinkers who are interested in understanding themselves and how their early childhood experiences shaped their relational patterns today. I work with "Talented & Gifted burn-out kids" who finally feel safe to un-mask. My clients are highly intuitive, empathetic and sensitive, sometimes to a fault. I work with recovering people-pleasers who question authority & are engaged in breaking cycles of generational trauma.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

The intake appointment should take about an hour. I will ask you questions to better understand how your mental distress has been manifesting. I will ask any questions I had from your intake form. Then I will spend time getting to know you, exploring your needs and preferences within therapy. I will invite you to share your long-term goal for yourself within therapy as we build your treatment plan together. I will support you in identifying smaller, more measurable steps you can take both within and between sessions to reach your goals. We will re-visit and update your treatment plan as needed. During the intake and throughout our therapeutic relationship, I will openly discuss my clinical impressions and recommendations with you. As your therapist, I will create space for you to go deeper. Whatever needs to present itself will. Therapy is a space for you and it will be what it needs to be. I am here to help you figure out what that is if you aren't sure yet. I will modify my therapeutic orientation to provide the container necessary to hold and empower you. It is my belief that most everyone would benefit from therapy. I enjoy working with Telehealth clients who are interested in their emotional progression and motivated to look inward and deepen their sense of connection with themselves, others and the natural world. I will meet you where you are at, no matter where that is. <3

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

My clients describe me as calm, empowering, authentic, solution-focused + attuned. I am skilled at pattern recognition within the thinking and behavior of individuals + family systems. My special interest is in advocacy for de-pathologizing the human experience + shifting the Mental Health Paradigm from the Disease model to neurodiversity affirming care, language + support. I see my clients as the experts of their lives and provide space + compassionate inquiry to encourage introspection. My I love being present as my clients experience "aha" moments and un-learn narratives + habits they developed to keep them safe, but are no longer needed to protect them. I feel my lived experience makes me a bad ass therapist. You are not broken or disordered. Nothing is wrong with you. You just haven't been given the support you need to be ✨TRULY✨YOU✨

About Leyla El-Baba

Identifies as

Specializes in

Serves ages

Licensed in

Accepts

Appointments

Virtual

My treatment methods

Transpersonal

In today's day and age, many of us feel pretty disconnected from the world around us. A lot of our time is spent on screens, dedicated to working and surviving. We witness natural disasters, genocide, school shootings and other horrific events. The world feels like a scary and unsafe place to be. We may not experience a sense of belonging or have connections that serve us, leading to isolation, cynicism and feelings of dread. The medical model of treatment is guided by the idea that we are "diseased," "disordered," or "abnormal." A transpersonal approach to therapy is one that is more focused on the bigger picture and instilling a sense of connection with the self, others and the world at large. This approach is less focused on what is "wrong" with you and more guided by the spiritual experience of being human. While many forms of therapy focus on improving mental health alone, transpersonal therapy includes mental, physical, social, emotional, creative and intellectual needs as well. Through the process of reconnecting deeply with ourselves, we feel that we are a part of the whole, rather than separate from it. This approach can be especially helpful if you are struggling with depression, PTSD/CPTSD, addiction, relationship challenges, grief, anxiety and isolation.

Attachment-based

It is my belief that the client-therapist relationship is the foundation for healing and learning to trust again. In therapy, we work together to understand how your attachment style was shaped through your experiences with your family of origin and how your attachment ebbs, flows and influences your relationships today. I have guided many clients through re-processing and healing from attachment trauma in order to shift the ways that they show up in relationship as an adult. This involves identifying unmet needs and guiding you to the inner and outer resources to meet these needs now. This approach can be very beneficial for those with anxiety, depression, mood challenges, relationship issues and childhood trauma.

Brainspotting

Brainspotting is a powerful, focused, brain-based treatment that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other symptoms. This approach works with the deep brain and body through direct access to the nervous system, tapping in to and harnessing the body's natural self-healing ability. Brainspotting is effective for a wide range of emotional and somatic conditions but is particularly effective with trauma-based situations. This approach bypasses the "thinking brain," allowing access to the deeper, subcortical emotional and body-based parts of the brain.

Existential

Existential therapy is guided by the search for meaning or purpose, focusing on the anxieties and fears we experience as a fundamental part of our existence. These include fear of the unknown, death and the meaning of life. This approach is deep and allows for an ongoing exploration of one's felt sense of their place in the world. This approach is beneficial for those who are interested in self-examination who may be experiencing suicidal ideation, depression, PTSD, addiction, chronic illness and isolation.

Relational

Relationship is the foundation of it all. Relationally is a view of the world that underlines how no person or thing exists in isolation, because existence necessarily means being 'in relationship'