Katie Leikam

I have been working from a CBT perspective for over ten years. My clinical supervision was from a cognitive behavioral therapy clinician and have over three years of intense learning to use CBT. I don't generally use worksheets, but I do challenge negative thinking and thought patterns and use logic during sessions to suss out cognitive behavioral patterns to solicit change in my clients.

I use mindful self compassion to work with clients to practice self compassion, self love and self forgiveness. I have been using this in my practice with multiple clients and have taken classes to learn to be more effective at teaching and processing with my clients to practice self love. Mental illness and gender dysphoria can be difficult to deal with at times and I really want my clients to practice kindness to themselves during their difficult moments.

For solution focused therapy, I believe my clients create their own ideal version of themselves and will work together to take the incremental steps to realize where you want to be in life. I ask pointed questions and allow my client to be the experts in their own care. I have been using solution focused therapy for over ten years and have learned to work with my clients to really facilitate change in briefer amounts of time.

I have worked with transgender clients almost exclusively in my private practice. I am an affirming clinician. I believe my clients when they tell me they are transgender, non-binary or genderqueer. I attend national conferences each year such as Gender Odyssey and The Philadelphia Trans Wellness conference to increase my education and trans awareness so that I can best help my clients be their true selves. I am a member of WPATH in the process of certification in their education initiative program. I follow WPATH standards of care version 7 and I am looking forward to the new version 8. I also support informed consent for my clients at every step of the way. I have extensive experience writing hormone and surgery letters to support my clients and am a part of the advocacy and ally communities.

I have been working with anxiety for over six years and incorporate mindfulness and self awareness with working with anxiety. I have experience working with social anxiety, work related anxiety, anxiety for coming out to friends family and work, sexual anxiety and school anxiety. Being anxious is stressful and can cause difficulties sleeping and functioning. It can leave you with feelings of dread and panic attacks. I am experienced in calming methods and emotional processing to find the root of anxiety and treat the source, not just the symptoms.

I have experience working with clients who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, demisexual and omnisexual. I believe that you are the expert of your own identity and I increase my learning about sexual identities by attending training each year. I am affirming of your identity and support my clients in their self expression.