Individual online counselling and psychotherapy for women
Who would you have grown up to be if things could have been different; without all of the cultural, societal, and gendered conditioning clouding your perceptions and leading you to doubt yourself?
This constant reinforcement of inaccurate (and sometimes impossible) ideologies can be overwhelming, exhausting, and confusing. And it can lead to deep struggles: anxiety, depression, burnout, people pleasing – often combined with a lack of support systems and understanding.
I am here to help.
Whatever you are going through, you don't have to figure it out alone. I offer space for you (via video call) to talk at your own pace and without judgement, so that you can untangle some of the limitations and insecurities that have been holding you back, and step towards the incredible version of you that you were always meant to be.
Hi, I'm Leanne.
(she/her)
Clients come to see me with a wide range of issues. Some of the most common are:
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Abuse; domestic and sexual violence
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Ageing
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Anxiety
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Bereavement
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Depression
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Fertility
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Grief other than the death of a loved one – loss of dreams, identity, career, youth, faith, etc
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Health anxiety
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Low self-esteem/self-worth
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Motherhood – adapting into the role, loss of identity, the pressures
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Neurodivergence
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Neurodivergent families – supporting children, navigating the diagnostic process and school system (and the challenges they bring)
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Perimenopause and menopause
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Relationships – romantic, friendships,
family of origin -
Sexuality
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Stress
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The mental load
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Trauma
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Work and career stress
Basically just that I have a range of techniques and experience to draw on to be able to tailor our sessions to your needs on the day:
A person-centred approach means I work relationally to create a safe space to talk through your problems; perhaps you need to share your story whilst I really listen to you and hold space for your emotions, allowing you to verbally process and work through the thoughts and feelings that have been going round and round in your mind.
Perhaps you would like to address how you are struggling with anxious catastrophising, and it would help for me to guide you through some CBT techniques to challenge these thoughts and bring some balance to your perceptions.
Maybe you feel stuck in negative patterns of behaviour and it would be useful to explore your childhood and messages that you may have picked up in your formative years to assess how these show up for you today, and how they might be subconsciously driving you to replay your early experiences, feelings or beliefs. This can be done using a psychodynamic approach.
Solution-focused therapy can build on this understanding of yourself and your behaviours to help to identify your end goal, and working backwards, we can put steps in place to get there.
Therapy can be hard. We can dip into some deep stuff. But it's my job to make sure we do this in a way that feels safe; I am here to hold all of your pain for a little while and feed it back to you, piece-by-piece, in smaller amounts that are manageable to feel and let it go, rather than have the full weight of it all smack you in the face and leave you overwhelmed. Sometimes we might cry, sometimes we might get angry, and sometimes we might even have a laugh. It's real life, in all its messy and complicated glory, and I will be right here alongside you as you navigate it.
I'm a Pluralistic Psychotherapeutic Counsellor, working primarily with women, online via Zoom from my base in Leeds, which means that I am trained in a variety of counselling approaches, including person-centred counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), psychodynamics, and solution-focused therapy. I am also trauma-informed and have experience in supporting people experiencing suicidal ideation.
What this means for you:
In my online practice, I work with adults (18+), but I am also a qualified counsellor of children and young people and have experience working within the school system. Whilst I am and always will be passionate about early intervention and teaching young people the language and tools to express and manage their emotions, I found that parents, and mums especially, are expected to hold so much together in order to support their families. Carrying the mental load, raising good humans, restructuring jobs and relationships, moving through significant life phases, untangling their own issues – and with less support than any other point in history.
That's not to say only mums struggle, of course. Families come in many varieties, and all lifestyles
and relationship structures are valid in my therapy room.
I am inclusive of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and invite trans and nonbinary people.
My clients have been from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, and I can appreciate the further intersectional barriers that ethnically diverse women come up against. Voices of lived experience are so important.
I have (personal and professional) experience with neurodivergence; most commonly ADD/ADHD, Autism, AuDHD, Dyslexia, and OCD, but I understand that the conditions under this broad umbrella are far ranging, and that even within each condition, the ways in which the signs and symptoms show up can be vastly different. Self-diagnosis is valid and I will work with you to make reasonable adjustments and accommodations wherever I can.
FAQs
Still have questions? You're not alone! Here you'll find the answers to some of my most frequently asked questions.
Yes!
I am a qualified Pluralistic Psychotherapeutic Counsellor.
I work online via Zoom from Leeds, and charge £60 per 55 minute session.
I often use the term ‘therapy’/‘Therapist’ simply because I am also a qualified Children and Young Person’s Counsellor, which involves very different approaches, such as creative techniques and play therapy, which aren’t often part of standard adult talking therapies. I am also a qualified Hypnotherapist, and have training in Reiki and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, or tapping). Whilst I don’t draw on these modalities as my default ones, I definitely find that adults can get a lot out of creative exercises, connecting to their inner child and expression through play and simplicity, and from the the grounding and visualisation techniques that I’ve picked up along the way. So I probably use ‘therapy’ a bit more than 'counselling' as I feel it's a more encompassing term to capture a sense of this broader approach, and I use the terms ‘Therapist’ and ‘Counsellor’ interchangeably.
The reasons people come to therapy are as varied as they are – there are probably as many different issues as there are clients! But there are also lot of commonalities. The main issues that come up within my practice include:
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Abuse; domestic and sexual violence
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Ageing
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Anxiety
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Bereavement
-
Depression
-
Fertility
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Grief other than the death of a loved one – loss of dreams, identity, career, youth, faith, etc
-
Health anxiety
-
Low self-esteem/self-worth
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Motherhood – adapting into the role, loss of identity, the pressures
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Neurodivergence
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Neurodivergent families – supporting children, navigating the diagnostic process and school system
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Perimenopause
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Relationships – romantic, friendships, family of origin
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Sexuality
-
Stress
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The mental load
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Trauma
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Work and career stress
A lot of women that I work with often feel stuck or lost, perhaps after having children, being in a relationship or job for a long time, divorce/separation, or even simply from being weighed down by society's expectations of them and the state of the world.
A lot of women struggle with, and want support and validation for, hormonal and life changes – pregnancy, perimenopause, menopause – and late diagnosed neurodivergence. They need a space to grieve for the years of misinformation they endured, and learn to feel empowered by their new status.
Many, many women struggle with anxiety and depression. Feeling pushed to be smaller – physically and metaphorically – whilst assuming responsibility for everyone else, all up against cultural messages that we're not good enough no matter what we do, and then combined with the pressures to keep our whole family safe in an ever-changing and negative world. It's a lot.
Whatever is troubling you, you are welcome to come and talk it out. No issue is too "small"; there is no hierarchy of issues that are more deserving of my time. We also each have our own unique ways of understanding the world and access to different resources which impact our experiences and ways of coping, so it's always worth reaching out.
There are some issues and areas that I don't have specific experience or training in (for example, active addiction) and to fully work through these issues, you would be better suited with a more specialised counsellor or therapist who can guide you knowledgeably and safely. So in those instances, I may refer you on. This is not a rejection of you as a person, or because you are too broken to handle; it's because I want you to have the best possible experience, and sometimes the way to getting that doesn't involve me. I am also ethically bound to work towards your best interests and if there is a better style of help suited to you, then it would be unethical to limit you. But this is why we will have a quick, free 20-minute consultation call to understand your issues and how I can best support you before we get going with full sessions.
There’s no hard and fast answer to this. I think it really depends on a number of factors, like the complexity of the issue(s) you want to work through, how helpful you find the sessions, and your progress.
Some people come to therapy with a specific issue in mind, with a plan to focus there for several sessions and then stop. Some people want to explore their issue more deeply, or decide to work through several issues and stay in therapy for years!
I’d recommend at least 6–12 sessions for us to build up the necessary trust and safety to be able to share openly, and to fully explore your issue(s). But we will review your aims for therapy regularly to make sure we’re working towards your goals, or consider if you want to take a different tack. And remember that this is your space; you can decide to continue or end sessions based on when that feels right for you.
It's important to commit to counselling regularly to get the most out of it.
I offer sessions weekly, generally at the same time and on the same day each week. I can also offer a session every two weeks; some people prefer more time to 'digest' in between our sessions and that is something we can certainly discuss as part of tailoring the therapy to your needs.
My current availability is Monday daytimes and Wednesday evenings. With my Monday sessions, I can be available over bank holidays to maintain a sense of predictability and consistency, if you prefer. This is the kind of thing we will discuss at our first session, but I do aim to be flexible where possible. I may also have other availability around Monday and Wednesdays, so it may still be worth contacting me to check if you're interested.
Sometimes, after an initial block of therapy, some people wish to have 'maintenance' sessions, perhaps once per month or on a more ad hoc basis. This is something we can discuss too.
I understand that sometimes life gets in the way, and unforeseen circumstances can occur, so I endeavour to be flexible and accommodating to your needs. If you need to cancel or reschedule your counselling appointment, please do your best to give me at least 24 hours' notice before your session. This allows me to offer the appointment slot to another person in need of support and to manage my own time.
In the event of a late cancellation (less than 24 hours' notice), I reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee equivalent to the full cost of the session.
That said, I do value your commitment to your well-being and understand that emergencies can occur. If you have extenuating circumstances, please contact me as soon as possible, and I will do my best to find a suitable solution. If we can reschedule our appointment, there will be no financial penalty for cancelling due to an emergency. Should a pattern of recurring ‘last-minute' cancellations emerge, we will review our work together and consider solutions that suit both parties.
If you forget to attend a session or not inform me of an emergency this is classed as a No Show. I charge full payment for the session for appointments considered a No Show.
In my counselling service, I prioritise building a trusting and supportive relationship with my clients.
I genuinely care about your progress and want to ensure that you receive the highest quality of care. I appreciate your understanding and cooperation with my cancellation policy. If you have any questions or need to make changes to your appointment, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Should I have an emergency and/or need to cancel our session, you will, of course, not be liable to pay for any session that does not go ahead due to my cancellation. I will aim to give you as much notice as possible and let you know via email if I have sufficient notice, or by phone call if I only have 24 hours' notice or less, or if I have not had a response to my email.
You can view this policy as a PDF here.
I charge £60 per 55-minute session.
We can have a free 20-minute consultation call in the first instance, to get a feel for each other and discuss what type of support you need. After this, if we decide to progress to sessions together, I will email you a copy of our contract and within that email will be a booking link requesting payment which will be due in advance of our first session. After the first full payment, your card details will be stored securely within a system called Stripe, and payment for future sessions will be automatically processed on the day of each session.
On Mondays, I am available from 9am to 5pm, with my last session of the day being 4–4.55pm. Generally, with these sessions, I can be available over bank holidays to maintain a sense of predictability and consistency.
Wednesday evening sessions are either 6–6.55pm or 7–7.55pm.
I may also have other availability around Monday and Wednesdays, so it may still be worth contacting me if you're interested in moving ahead with me, stating your preference to see if we can find a solution.
In terms of admin, I may email you outside of 'office hours' (i.e., before 9am or after 5pm) but please do not feel obliged to reply outside of your personal 'office hours'. However, I would not make a phone call to you outside of 'office hours’, unless pre-arranged or immediately prior to a 9am session (if I had to cancel that session suddenly, for example).
First of all, we will have a free 20-minute consultation call, via Zoom. This will help us both get a feel for each other and provide a chance for you to tell me a little about what's going on for you and ask any questions you might have. I can also explain a little about how I work and go through our contract for working together. After that, if we're happy to proceed to a full counselling session*, I will email you the contract and a link to a payment system. By making this initial payment for a session, you confirm your agreement to the contract terms and conditions.
You will receive a reminder and a link to our session. Even though our sessions may be online, counselling isn't something that can be done on the go. We explore vulnerable and sometimes painful emotions, so it is a requirement to have a private space to process this. At our first session, we'll spend a short time doing some admin: making sure I have your up-to-date contact details and setting some boundaries and troubleshooting – what will we do if our connection goes? Or someone else is present, or the door goes? How might we handle if we miss a session or run late? What about the unlikely situation if we happen to bump into each other in 'real life'? Whatever practical and plausible unknowns we can alleviate, we'll talk it out.
Then we'll look at your goals: where are you now? Where do you want to be – and where would you settle to be? How will you know when things have changed/improved? What do you hope to get out of counselling? From there, we can get into talking about what's troubling you and what support you need, and link this all together so we have a bit of a 'plan' for our sessions moving forwards.
A little about me: I may wear headphones, just to ensure your words are completely confidential and for my ears only. I am most often alone in the building though, so if I am not wearing headphones, this doesn't mean you are at risk of being overheard, it's often just my preference on the day (or if you have a preference, I am happy to adhere to that!). I also may take notes but I usually don't. Anything I do write down is mostly a note to myself of something to circle back to, maybe something that feels pertinent but not necessarily the right time to follow up in that moment. I use a reusable notebook (Rocketbook) and erasable pen (Frixion), and will wipe the pages clean after our session so no 'paper' record is captured of our sessions. I will write up some notes on my confidential admin portal KIKU after our session; these tend to be a basic overview of the session and themes, plus suggestions to pick up on next time.
Therapy can be hard. We can dip into some deep stuff. But it's my job to make sure we do this in a way that feels safe; I am here to hold all of your pain for a little while and feed it back to you, piece-by-piece, in smaller amounts that are manageable to feel and let it go, rather than have the full weight of it all smack you in the face and leave you overwhelmed. Sometimes we might cry, sometimes we might get angry, and sometimes we might even have a laugh. It's real life, in all its messy and complicated glory, and I will be right here alongside you as you navigate it.
*Occasionally, I might decide we're not the right fit for working together. This is not a rejection of you as a person, or because you are too broken to handle; it's simply because there are issues and areas that I just don't have enough experience or training in to provide the best possible service to you, and I want you to have the best possible service. I will explain my reasoning and discuss this with you at the time if I think this applies though.
CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY
I will never discuss you or your case outside of my counselling room. The only exception is that I may discuss you with my supervisor. By law, I am legally required to attend supervision, and you may be discussed there. I use non-identifying information (e.g., "my client" or "Client A") to discuss my cases and my supervisor is also bound by confidentiality and will never disclose your information.
However, there are circumstances where I would be legally obligated to break confidentiality in the interests of keeping you or other people safe. Namely, when a serious crime has been committed or I have good reason to believe that a crime to going to be committed: if you tell me you are involved in Acts of Terrorism, Drug Trafficking, or Money Laundering, I will need to contact the relevant authorities immediately.
Whilst I don't shy away from disclosures of self-harm or suicide ideation, my priority is you and keeping you safe. In these instances, we would work together to make a plan to keep you from harm, which may involve telling a friend or family member so you are not alone with dark thoughts and urges. If this came up, I would seek to gain your permission before contacting your next of kin, and we would discuss it together before any action was taken. (You can review my safeguarding policy here, and the procedure that I follow here.)
To protect both your confidentiality and mine, recording of our sessions is not permitted without my prior written consent. This includes audio and video recordings, whether made intentionally or automatically (such as through certain online platforms).
GDPR
To communicate with you, I will gather some basic information from you. This will include: your name, address, mobile number, next of kin details, and your email address. I will store your phone number on my phone. I will store your contact details in my automated admin system called KIKU. I will have a record of our appointment in my paper diary.
When we stop working together, after a month I will delete your number from my phone. Your KIKU file will be archived and deleted after 7 years. There will still be an email and diary trail.
I keep brief session notes after each session we have. These session notes are held securely on an online server as part of my administration contract with KIKU. These are your notes, and you are welcome to see them at any time. I normally retain session notes for seven years following the end of our work together in line with professional guidance and insurance requirements. After this period, they will be securely destroyed.
I take the holding of your data very seriously. I am the Data Controller of my business, and I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). If you have concerns about how I have handled your personal information, I hope you will discuss this with me in the first instance to give me the opportunity to address your concerns. If you remain unhappy with my response, you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
Further information about how I collect, store, and process your personal information can be found in my Data Protection Policy, which can be found here.
For clarity, the only people who can (potentially successfully) request the release of client information are:
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you (the client in question)
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a judge (if, for example, a court enforces that a therapist attend court and disclose your notes, although this is an unlikely event)
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a coroner (who would become involved should a client end their life or die in suspicious circumstances. Even if a client dies, confidentially still stands after their death. However, a coroner, as a member of the legal system, has the authority to bring a therapist to court to disclose information).
So rest assured, your family cannot come knocking and demand to be in the know. Nor can a member of the police.
You can find a PDF of my Confidentiality Policy here.
You can send me an email (hello@leannekrang.com) or use the 'contact me' form to enquire, but the easiest way to book is to use this 'book now' link (also included at the top of the page, and on the home page) to access my calendar directly and book a free 20-minute call. If, at this call, we both agree to proceed, I can book you in there and then for a full session, or if you want to weigh it all up and have a think, you can then come back here and use the calendar to book a full session. If there is a time that would be more convenient for you, by all means, send me an email or use the 'contact me' section to send me a message and see what's possible.
Once we have a full session booked in, following sessions will be on the same day and time on a recurring basis, usually starting the following week.
Counselling can feel like a big step. I've been on both sides of the therapy room and can totally appreciate how dauting it can feel. It’s OK – normal even – to feel anxious and uncertain about taking that step. In order to get some clarity, I would recommend taking some time to reflect on the ways that your issue is impacting your daily life, your goals and expectations for therapy, and where you're currently at.
Therapy works best when you have at least some level of stability in daily life. If you're living in an unsafe environment or experiencing uncontrolled addiction, addressing safety is going to have to come first.
If you’re hoping therapy will 'fix' everything in a few sessions, you may be disappointed. Also, if you're looking for someone who has all the answers for you, you're going to be disappointed there too; am not here to tell you what to do, but to be here with you whilst you figure things out. Therapy requires time, patience, effort, and commitment. Maybe you can't commit to regular sessions at this time or you don't have a private space (even though our sessions may be online, counselling isn't something that can be done on the go. We explore vulnerable and sometimes painful emotions, it is a requirement to have a private space to process this). Perhaps life circumstances mean you simply don’t have the bandwidth to begin therapy right now. That’s OK; it will be there to come back to when you do feel ready.
Recognising what you need in this moment is part of self-care, and therapy is a process. It's OK to proceed slowly at times. But if you are curious, why not take the first step? Reach out and let's have an initial chat; see how it feels. Sometimes, simply making contact helps to clarify whether it’s right for you.
(Obviously, I am passionate about counselling and believe everyone can benefit from it; it's just about finding the right therapist and the right therapy. If we have a chat and you're not convinced - that is totally OK too. But please do bear in mind that that is not to say counselling in general might not be right for you; finding the right fit/type/timing is key. It’s perfectly acceptable to try different therapists until you find someone who feels right.)
Yes, it's useful to know about my policies and procedures.
ONLINE WORKING
I work online from my base in Leeds, UK, but I take great care to ensure a safe and appropriate working environment. I have undertaken a comprehensive risk assessment, and you can view my policy on this here. Additionally, most of the time I am alone in the building; you can read my lone working policy here.
COMPLAINTS
I am committed to providing counselling that meets the needs and expectations of my clients, and I recognise the importance of feedback. Therefore, I take complaints very seriously as they provide an opportunity for continuous improvement. If you feel that you have received poor service from me, I would request that you reach out to me in the first instance so that we can talk about it and hopefully arrive at a solution. If this is unsatisfactory, my full Complaints Policy will be shared before we begin working together.
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
I am passionate about an inclusive practice and strive to foster an inclusive, respectful, and non-discriminatory environment for all my clients. My EDI Policy can be found here.
PRIVATE POLICY
I, Leanne Krang, collect personal data about you. For the purpose of contacting you about your sessions, I will collect your:
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name
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address
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phone number
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next of kin
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email address
I am registered as the Data Controller for my business with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), and take the protection of your data very seriously. I will store your contact details securely within my automated admin portal called KIKU, and hold this information for 7 years as required by my professional body.
You have a right to know what data I have on you and can request a copy of this. If you feel that there has been a breach of your data and wish to raise a complaint about your experience, please do contact me directly in the first instance. If we can't come to a resolution and my responses are not acceptable to you, you can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 11 13.
My full Data Protection (GDPR) Policy can be found here.
LIVING WILL
In the event of my death or incapacitation through illness, a nominated person will receive the name and contact details of my current clients. The nominated person will contact my clients to inform them of my situation.
Contact me
hello@leannekrang.com