About Leah
Leah Shanks is a licensed professional counselor with 15 years of experience in Tennessee. She focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, and trauma. Leah also supports those facing eating and body image concerns, mood struggles, and challenges with self-esteem.
Leah centers work on the person rather than labels. She treats each person as the expert on their own story and looks for strengths to build on. Sessions are practical and straightforward, with an emphasis on small, usable steps that fit day-to-day life.
How Leah works
Her approach draws on a mix of methods to match the needs of the person in front of her. Leah uses cognitive-behavioral techniques to address patterns of thinking and behavior. She brings in mindfulness and somatic tools to help with stress and body-based reactions.
For people with trauma, Leah incorporates trauma-focused strategies and EMDR to reduce the intensity of painful memories. She also helps people cope with life transitions, grief, parenting strain, compassion fatigue, and impulsivity. Her work includes support for panic attacks, social anxiety, and pregnancy-related concerns.
Leah aims to create a calm, respectful space where practical goals are set together. She focuses on what can change now and on building skills that last. The pace and methods are adjusted to match each person’s comfort and goals.
Leah lists 6 ways of working on the entry:
What Leah works with
The areas below are the ones Leah selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Trauma and abuse
- Eating disorders
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Body image
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Impulsivity
- Mood disorders
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Social anxiety and phobia
Training and background
| Register | LPC-MHSP |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 15 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Tennessee |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Approaches that translate to online care
Client-centered therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and working from each person's strengths. It helps people feel heard and guides goal-setting in a way that fits their values and daily life.Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, feelings, and actions interact. It teaches practical exercises to change unhelpful thinking and develop new coping behaviors for anxiety, panic, or mood concerns.
EMDR is a trauma-focused method that helps reduce the intensity of painful memories through structured processing. It is often used when trauma or post-traumatic stress is a central concern.
Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Leah will talk with the person about their goals, preferences, and reactions to different methods, then adjust the plan together. That means trying tools, checking how they feel, and shifting tactics as needed.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video works well for face-to-face connection and hands-on skills practice. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or on a short break. Live chat and messaging allow brief check-ins, journaling support, and ongoing skill rehearsal between longer sessions. These options help fit therapy into a busy life and make consistent care more practical.
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Common questions
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A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
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