Leah Cook MA, LMHC, MBA

I have an extensive history of working with children and teenagers. I integrate play therapy and art therapy when working with children since they don't process emotions and thoughts the same way adults do. I have worked with children with adjustment disorder, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, anxiety, depression, abandonment issues, anger outbursts, and more. I enjoy working with children and their parents, as their parents play a key role. I believe including them makes children more successful.

Anxiety can present in many different ways within individuals. This can mean panic attacks, fight or flight, intrusive thoughts, OCD, or a number of different symptoms. I like to use CBT as a main therapeutic style when working with anxiety, but I pull in techniques from a variety of other styles in order to help identify underlying feelings and thoughts, triggers, and ways to control the symptoms instead of allowing them to control you.

Relationships are challenging at times, no matter who you are. I have worked with a lot of families and couples who are seeking someone who is a neutral party to help them process through disputes, misunderstandings, or times when they are simply having issues connecting like they used to. I also work with couples who are wanting to get married and make sure they are on the same page before saying I do.

I use solution focused therapy when working with clients to identify their strengths and focus on creating solutions when you feel like there are none. We do this together through creating achievable goals and building on success. This is a very practical approach that I use in conjunction with other approaches to help clients access their strengths.

Motivational interviewing is another approach that I sprinkle into sessions. This allows me to better understand you and your motivations to change. This also allows you to fully understand your values and your own motivations. Maybe you haven't taken the first step to change because you feel unsure or ambivalent, through conversations we will be able to uncover where you are at in your journey and where you want to go.

CBT is a very common therapeutic style that I pull from frequently, but I use rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) most often in practice. This technique focuses on challenging irrational thoughts that lead to distress, looking at the activating event, beliefs, and then consequences. The aim of this technique is to help clients identify and replace irrational thoughts, fears, and beliefs with healthy alternatives.