- evidence based techniques
- distress tolerance skills
- OCD and phobias
About Leigh
Leigh Joiner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in North Carolina with six years of experience. She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, depression, and life changes. She also helps people dealing with OCD, panic, phobias, social anxiety, compulsive hair pulling, chronic illness and pain, end-of-life concerns, gender questions, and feelings of guilt and shame.
Leigh uses an evidence-based approach and describes her work as practical and secular. She listens first, then helps people make sense of how their thoughts and behaviors connect to their distress. Sessions emphasize learning skills to tolerate distress and manage symptoms so everyday life feels more manageable.
When presentations are complex, she focuses on what is most urgent and workable in the moment. That can mean breaking down overwhelming problems into small steps and building routines that reduce anxiety and compulsive urges. She also supports people facing grief, medical loss, and the strain of chronic conditions by addressing both practical needs and emotional responses.
Leigh helps people explore identity questions, including gender dysphoria, without assuming outcomes. She works with those who carry guilt or shame about past actions or about who they are, helping them name and understand those feelings. Her style is direct and practical, aimed at clearer thinking and steadier coping.
Clients start by identifying concrete goals and learning tools to use between sessions. Over time the focus can shift from symptom reduction to stronger coping and clearer decision making about relationships, work, and life transitions.
How evidence-based approaches are used online
Leigh works from a secular, evidence-based perspective that focuses on practical skills and clear goals. Cognitive approaches help people identify unhelpful thought patterns and test new ways of thinking, which can reduce anxiety and obsessive worry. Exposure-based techniques address phobias, panic, and many OCD patterns by gradually facing feared situations or urges in a controlled way so avoidance and checking decrease over time.Finding the right approach is part of the work. She collaborates with each person to choose methods that match their goals, symptoms, and daily life. That means trying interventions, tracking what helps, and adjusting plans together rather than following a fixed script.
The practical benefits of remote work include fitting sessions into busy days and reducing travel time. Because session formats were not specified in the biography, confirm current session options before booking. Many people find online sessions make it easier to keep regular appointments and to practice skills between meetings, which supports steady progress over time.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
6+ years
Listed in
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, depression, and life transitions. Additional areas include OCD, panic, phobias, chronic illness, end-of-life concerns, and guilt and shame.
How would she approach feelings of guilt or shame?
She helps people name and understand those feelings and then teaches practical skills to reduce distress. Therapy focuses on clearer thinking and manageable steps rather than quick fixes.
What is her background and experience?
She has six years of clinical experience working with a range of anxiety and trauma-related concerns and complex presentations where multiple issues coexist.
Which credentials and location apply?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in North Carolina. Her practice is based in North Carolina.
Are sessions offered in any other languages?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can people outside the United States work with her?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What do I do to begin?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, use the crisis numbers.