Barbara Leigh , LPC

Barbara Leigh brings 38 years of clinical experience to her therapeutic work, blending deep professional knowledge with flexible, practical approaches tailored to each person she sees. She assesses individual needs and adapts interventions so treatment aligns with a client's goals and life circumstances, emphasizing both realistic planning and opportunities for growth.

Her practice focuses on anxiety, depression, trauma, and neurodiversity, including autism spectrum conditions, ADHD, and traumatic brain injury. She often works with clients who seek longer-term, growth-oriented therapy and enjoys supporting people as they identify their priorities, build skills, and pursue meaningful change.

Barbara also operates an autism consulting business and holds several professional credentials. She is an LPC - Licensed Professional Counselor - and a Certified Autism Specialist, which indicates specialized training in autism. She is a Board Certified Telemental Health Provider, reflecting training in delivering remote therapy, a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional with focused trauma expertise, and she serves as a Clinical Supervisor in Alabama, providing oversight and guidance to other clinicians.

Her background includes work across many settings - inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, residential, in-home, private practice, and virtual care. Her early adoption of online counseling in the 1990s gained wider attention, including features on national media. Clinically, she commonly uses cognitive behavioral techniques, skills-building drawn from dialectical behavior approaches, and neuroeducation to help clients understand how mind-body processes influence feelings and behavior. Barbara balances compassion, clear feedback, and a sense of humor to make challenging change more manageable and engaging.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care That Support Change

Barbara Leigh uses several evidence-informed approaches to guide online therapy. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on understanding each person from their own perspective and fostering a trusting, nonjudgmental relationship; it helps with self-exploration, self-esteem, and life transitions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targets the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and offers practical skills to reduce anxiety, manage depression, and change unhelpful patterns. Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative, goal-oriented method that helps people explore ambivalence and strengthen motivation for change, which can be especially useful for addictions, lifestyle shifts, and readiness-related issues.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. Barbara works collaboratively with clients and other licensed professionals to determine which methods best fit a person’s needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress unfolds so therapy stays relevant and effective.

Online therapy with Barbara is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care, access support from wherever one is located within the therapist’s service area, and integrate therapy into everyday life without sacrificing consistency.