My name is Leslie Thomas, M.S, LPC. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with over seven years of experience working in the mental health field. The counseling relationship is crucial to the counseling process being successful. I hope that this page will provide a little bit of information about my education, life experience, and counseling style, so that you will feel comfortable sharing your counseling journey with me.
EDUCATION
In 2001 I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Business Administration with a Human Resource concentration from Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas.
In 2004, I graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with my Master’s Degree in Community Counseling.
EXPERIENCE
I have over seven years of experience working in the mental health field. I have experience working with children, adolescents, adults, and couples on a variety of issues including: depression, grief, trauma, abuse, ADHD, anxiety, adjustment, life transition, trust issues, self-esteem, self-care, and life-work balance.
I have also worked in a variety of settings including: inpatient acute and residential, outpatient, school-based, private practice, therapeutic foster care, day treatment, and a college counseling center.
MY COUNSELING STYLE
I operate from the belief that you are the expert in your own life. Only you know what it is like to be you, and so only you will know what will work, or won’t work in your life. That being said my goal as a counselor is to provide a space for individuals, families, and couples to express themselves in a non-judgmental, safe, and relaxing environment away from all the busyness of the world around us. And then to help those same individuals create a road map to navigate from where they are now to where they want to be. I am constantly learning and growing as a therapist, so I utilize a lot of different techniques and theoretical orientations. I use a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy strategies because I believe that our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors are all connected. In order to change one, we must examine them all. This means becoming aware of how we are feeling and thinking and how those thoughts and feeling correspond to our actions.