Welcome to my web page at BetterHelp. Did you know that over 42% of the United States population has sought some type of mental help services in their lifetime? Another 36% of the United States population have thought about seeking out mental health services to address all ranges of mental health issues. It takes initiative, courage and self-awareness to reach out for help. The hardest part of reaching out for help is finding a therapist that is compassionate, warm, understanding, non-judgmental, and a good listener that fits a client’s mental health needs while accommodating home, school, and work balance within the scope of everyday life. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to navigate the process of what to expect in therapy to achieve positive outcomes in mental health wellness. I firmly believe in the philosophy that “if you do not ‘jive’ with a therapist, do not quit counseling, just find a therapist you do.” In my professional experience I have often heard clients state, “My therapist does not listen to me. They just tell me things I already know.” This is not the experience that I want to give any of my clients. I believe in the philosophy “treat others like you would want to be treated and walk a mile in their shoes.” I believe that everyone is an expert of their own life and that the therapist should empower a client to concentrate on things that they can control within their environment through positivity, thus, avoiding the traps of “should haves, could haves, would haves, must haves” that can cause a person to become paralyze within their own psyche. The counselor/client relationship should be a collaborative one that does not leave the client feeling deflated but empowered with new tools to try to improve overall mental health functioning. I have had many clients come with high expectations that the therapist “will fix them, or give them advice”. This is one thing that no therapist can do as this would be taking individual power away from the client further exasperating the symptoms of the mental health diagnosis for which one is seeking help. The therapeutic relationship is one that each party equally contributes to setting client centered goals that are measurable and attainable while bringing about personal awareness of how behaviors affect actions and how actions affect mental health outcomes. In short, all behaviors have positive or negative consequences. My approach to counseling is to help educate clients on behaviors, choices, and consequences through solution-focused, cognitive behavior, aspects of psychodynamic and Gestalt, but mostly client centered therapies. I ascribe to the concept, “Stop, Think, Act” when working with a client. I am Leslie Warren, a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with a Person In Practice endorsement by the Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners. I have over 15 years in social services experience in an agency setting prior to receiving my Masters in Social Work in 2014 and a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling in 2018 from the University of Alabama. I have about 6 years postmasters clinical experience working for both private and public agencies/companies with preschool and school age children, young adults, caregivers, disabled populations, and older adults. I am well versed in helping clients assess community and educational resources. I am experienced in providing case management, individual, and group therapy, I am experiences in treating clients with general anxiety and situational depression. I am most knowledgeable in educating clients on grief and anxiety issues related to death, disability, and infertility. As a person who has suffered from infertility, I am passionate in beginning a new phase of my professional career by helping infertile couples navigate the stresses, anxiety, grief, and unknown expectations of the path to parenthood while giving individuals and couples emotional and educational support to deal with the loses each time a treatment fails. This “emotional roller coaster” causes a vicious cycle of disappointment, worry, depression, family and couple conflicts, and financial strain upon the individual’s or couple’s relationship. Many times the medical community lacks experience and education to address the needs of couples through the treatment process and fails to educate the client (patient) on all alternatives for treatment that may be available to them such as regular adoption and embryo donation/adoption through IVF. My plight with infertility is the main reason I decided to get a Masters of Social Work so I could help individuals and couples be a advocate for themselves through education, emotional support and understanding that is lacking in training among both the medical and mental health professional fields. Since choosing the right therapist affects the direct outcomes of the client’s progress toward mental help awareness and emotional well being, I prefer to have the first sessions to be through video chat as this will promote the atmosphere of a collaborative, trusting, warm, and open therapeutic relationship. I can also accommodate phone and chat forums. If you choose to enter into a therapeutic relationship with me, and you do not see an appointment time that works for you, or is not available on the calendar, reach out and I may be able to accommodate on a case by case basis as long as I have at least a two to three days notice. I generally check messages here a few times per day Tue-Sat and I will respond as quickly as I can. I do appreciate your patience when it takes a bit longer at times, as I may be tending to other clients or professional/personal responsibilities.” I wish you the best in this journey and I commend you for taking the initiative, courage and self-awareness to reach out for help. Leslie Warren, LICSW, PIP