Dr Leanne Harper

I am experienced in offering brief interventions, including one-off single session focused therapy, and longer-term therapy to support with helping you to get the most out of life. My specialisms including understanding our relationships, with ourselves and others (noticing when we keep finding ourselves replaying the same pattern), and working with self-belief, anxiety, and adapting to major life changes (for example physical health changes, moving countries, or learning to put boundaries in place with people/ jobs we love).

I trained as a Doctor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool (qualifying in 2021), and also spent 12 months living and working in Australia, where I was registered with the Australian Health Practice Regulation as a Psychologist. I have since returned to the UK, and now work in the NHS and private practice.

I have worked in crisis mental health support (such as A&E), community mental health, and forensic settings, and have published research into mindfulness and PTSD. Because of these experiences, I often work with people who have stressful jobs (such as police office, mental health professionals, and people working in high-risk settings) to support with re-finding a work life balance, self-confidence, and anxiety. I have also worked within general hospitals, with people with health conditions and health anxiety, and with people who everyone else would described as ‘high achievers’ – even though you often feel like a fraud yourself.

I am trained in multiple therapy approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), Cognitive Analytic informed Therapy (CAT-informed), Narrative Therapy, and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). But, most importantly, I am experienced in adapting different models to you, your reality, challenges, and responsibilities. I have worked alongside people with different life experiences to help them to change their story and live their best lives. I offer a personalised approach and believe in working collaboratively to find a style that suites your goals and strengths.

I am experienced in offering digital therapy, and utilising technology to offer therapy that is of the same standard as face-to-face, but with the additional flexibility of remote session (not having to rely on transport, childcare, or additional travel time). I will often share my screen, during therapy, so that we can draw out the problem in real-time, and start to notice patterns within behaviours, and how they can (realistically) be adapted to fit towards the life you want to live.

I will often use your words and experiences, as we work together to find the problem and solution towards your goals. This might include gently calling you out on things that are happening in, our outside of, session, and giving you a gentle push when needed. Our therapy will be relatively structured; however, this will be guided by what you need, and what you want to work on. If you are looking for a therapist just to talk about what’s happening, or a therapist who will give you all of the ‘answer’ themselves, I might not be the right fit. But, if you are looking to work together to figure out what you’re doing that’s getting in the way, and what you could (and want to) do differently, we might be able to do some good work together.

Therapy can be hard. It’s like tidying your room – you know it needs doing, but sometimes things can look a lot messier before they get better. And, you probably wouldn’t empty out all of your dirty cupboards with someone you didn’t trust. So, spending time to establish a genuine connection, and trust one another, before we jump in – is one of the most important parts of the process. I like to spend time to understand what your strengths are, what your life looks like outside of the things you’re bringing to therapy, and what a life worth living would mean for you. From this we can start to establish what steps are realistically possible to get there, and work at your own pace.

Therapy can feel scary, but we are trained professionals, and our job is to help you to feel comfortable enough to work on these things. You’ve already halfway there, by making it to this page, and I will never underestimate how much work has gone into getting to therapy. You’ve already started the work, by the time you get to me, I know you’re ready to make some changes.