Leah Shanks, LPC-MHSP

Leah Shanks is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health Service Provider with 15 years of experience in Tennessee. She focuses on helping people who feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, low mood, or struggles with eating and body image. Leah emphasizes the client's strengths and respects each person's story as the starting point for change.

Leah takes a straightforward, supportive approach. She listens first and helps people set clear, manageable goals. Sessions often include practical tools people can use between meetings to reduce worry and manage strong emotions.

She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, among other approaches, to help people notice and shift unhelpful thoughts and habits. Leah also draws on client-centered methods that keep the person's values and choices at the center of care. For those affected by traumatic events, she may incorporate trauma-focused techniques to address painful memories and reactions.

Leah works with concerns such as grief, parenting stress, relationship strain, anger, impulsivity, and the challenges that come with life changes. She also supports people struggling with panic, social anxiety, mood disorders, pregnancy and childbirth related concerns, and compassion fatigue.

Her style is collaborative and practical. Leah aims to create a space where people can try small steps, learn new coping skills, and build on what already works for them. She encourages steady progress rather than quick fixes.

How Leah’s approaches translate to online therapy

Leah commonly uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and client-centered methods in her work. CBT helps people identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and replace them with practical coping strategies to reduce anxiety, manage mood, and address panic symptoms. Client-centered therapy focuses on listening, empathy, and collaboration so the person feels heard while they decide what changes to make.

She may also use trauma-focused techniques when people bring concerns tied to past harm. These approaches aim to help reduce intense reactions to memories and build more manageable responses in daily life. Leah will discuss options and work together to choose the approach that best fits each person's goals and preferences.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to match different needs. Video calls let people use visual cues for a fuller conversation, phone sessions can be a good choice when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or live chat make shorter check-ins or stepwise work easier. These options give flexibility for scheduling, allow steady continuity of care, and let people pick the format that fits their routine and comfort.