Leah Renfro

Leah Renfro is an Illinois licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 14 years of experience helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, and major life changes. She lists life purpose among her interests and commonly supports clients facing career questions, parenting pressures, grief, and intimacy-related concerns.

Leah uses straightforward conversation and practical tools in sessions. She works from client-centered and cognitive behavioral approaches, and also draws on trauma-focused methods, motivational interviewing, and principles of the Gottman Method for relationship work. Sessions often focus on clearer thinking, coping strategies, and better communication.

Her background includes supporting adoptive and foster families, blended family situations, and people living with neurodevelopmental differences such as autism spectrum conditions. She also addresses caregiver stress, body image concerns, and challenges tied to divorce, forgiveness, or infidelity. Bipolar disorder and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder are among the mood-related issues listed in her practice areas.

Leah emphasizes collaboration in therapy. She helps people identify immediate steps and longer-term patterns that affect daily life. Practical homework, skills practice, and focused conversations are common parts of her work.

Sessions reflect attention to both emotional reaction and behavior change. Many clients come with a pressing question about what comes next in work or life; Leah assists people in sorting those questions and testing small changes to see what fits.

How her approaches fit into online sessions

Leah works from client-centered principles, which means the therapist follows the client's priorities and focuses conversation on what feels most pressing. This approach helps when someone is unsure what to tackle first or wants to identify personal values and next steps.

She also uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. CBT is practical and often includes short exercises or homework that can be practiced between sessions to change patterns of worry, low mood, or motivation. For relationship work she draws on ideas from the Gottman Method to address communication and patterns between partners in a structured way.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. Leah will discuss goals, preferences, and what has or hasn't helped before to determine whether client-centered talk, CBT exercises, Gottman-informed relationship work, or a mix is best. That decision is collaborative and can shift over time.

Specific session formats are not listed here, so confirm the available online options before booking. Many people find online appointments help fit therapy into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time. Leah integrates practical tools and short skills practice into sessions to make them easier to use between meetings.