Along your journey I will help you tap into your existing strengths. We will look into things including your past, present, and future, your relationships with others, and your relationship with yourself. I am passionate about working with those who experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, those who are grieving, and those who have experienced interpersonal conflict/violence. I am also passionate about working with individuals from various cultural backgrounds and am committed to cultural humility in my work. When working with clients, I draw on both my professional experience/training and personal experiences with anxiety and depression. I have had numerous family members in the military going back to World War II including, most recently, my brother-in-law who just retired from 20 years in the Navy.

How Can I Help?
We all struggle at times in life. Some are able to quickly move past these challenges. For others, our challenges become overwhelming, we feel stuck, and we feel a sense of suffering in our stucknesss. Anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues are often factors that contribute to our suffering. Changing and growing can be scary, painful, and hard. If you are finding the pain and challenges of where you are at to be worth the risk of changing, you have already begun your courageous transformation journey. I strive to create and hold a safe and non-judgmental space while compassionately joining you in working toward your self-identified goals using evidence-supported treatment modalities. I am trained in an array of treatment modalities but primarily use thought and behavior based treatments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), in addition to Motivational Interviewing (to help support change), and Narrative Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) to treat trauma. I have also received training in Gottman Couples Therapy to assess relationship strengths and help partners thrive.

My Philosophy on Mental Health
I understand that therapy requires you to be extremely vulnerable with another person, so the connection you feel with your therapist is just as important as the therapeutic training and skills your therapist possesses. Being authentic and genuine, and using humor are ways in which I work to create a human connection with my clients and help them feel safe to be vulnerable.

More About Me…
Outside of my role as a therapist, I am a wife and mom of 2 daughters and 3 cats. I enjoy exploring nature (both the mountains and the beach), going to concerts (I love funk, hip hop, soul, blues, and jazz music), bbqing in my backyard (I am the family grill master!), and laughing and playing with my ridiculous family. 

Fun Fact!
The first concert I went to was New Kids On The Block when I was 8 years old.

Scheduling Information: 
Leah provides both in person and virtual sessions. She is in network with Cigna, Kaiser, Tricare, Lyra and TriWest/VA.