About Leslie
Leslie Cates is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Louisiana with ten years of experience. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, grief, low self-esteem, anger, and major life changes. Leslie focuses on practical support so clients can take the next step forward.
Leslie uses a warm, interactive approach and centers sessions on each person's goals. She treats people with respect and avoids stigmatizing labels. Clients set the direction and she adapts her work to meet real-life needs.
How Leslie works
Her background includes a Master of Arts in Counseling completed in New Orleans in 2016 and a decade of clinical practice. She blends several therapy approaches so sessions match the issue at hand. That may mean skills for managing intense feelings or tools to rethink unhelpful thought patterns.
Leslie often helps people recover from childhood trauma and abusive relationships. She also supports those dealing with relationship strain, codependency, caregiver stress, chronic illness, and sleep disruption. When trauma is involved she uses methods that let people process difficult memories while learning ways to cope with strong emotions.
Sessions emphasize strengths, practical strategies, and willingness to try different ways of coping. The goal is clearer thinking, steadier moods, and more effective day-to-day choices. Leslie invites anyone ready for change to take a first step toward feeling better.
Leslie lists 12 ways of working on the entry:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Somatic Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
What Leslie works with
The areas below are the ones Leslie selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Bipolar disorder
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Dissociation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Trauma and abuse
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Training and background
| Register | LPC |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 10 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | Louisiana |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
Practical approaches for online therapy and emotional change
Leslie works from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in many online sessions. ACT helps people accept difficult feelings and focus on values-based actions rather than getting stuck in avoidance. This approach can be useful for anxiety, grief, and life transitions. CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thought patterns and behaviors; it often helps with depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and managing day-to-day stress.Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Leslie will talk with each person about goals, symptoms, and what feels most useful. She adapts methods over time and collaborates with clients to test tools and adjust the plan as needed.
Online therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different schedules and preferences. Video sessions allow face-to-face interaction for deeper conversation. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be easier during a busy day. Live chat or text-based messaging can provide shorter check-ins, written reflections, and flexibility when a quick note or ongoing written support is preferred.
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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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