Leah Renfro

Leah Renfro is an Illinois licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with 14 years of practice. She focuses on helping people who are facing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, and major life changes. Leah aims to create a calm space where people can talk through hard moments and find practical steps forward.

Leah uses Trauma-Focused Therapy alongside client-centered and cognitive behavioral approaches to guide sessions. She works with people experiencing grief, parenting strain, career challenges, and intimacy-related concerns. Her background includes work with adoptive and foster care situations and with neurodiversity such as autism and Asperger syndrome.

Her style is warm and grounded. She listens first, then helps clients build coping skills, repair communication, and set manageable goals. Motivational interviewing is used when people want help finding readiness to change and making concrete plans.

Leah also has experience addressing complex mood conditions, including bipolar disorder and disruptive mood dysregulation. She supports people dealing with caregiver stress, body image concerns, and the emotional fallout of separation or infidelity.

People will find practical tools and collaborative planning in her sessions. She encourages small, achievable steps and regular check-ins to track progress. To start, clients complete a short matching questionnaire and schedule according to her availability.

How her approaches work online and in session

Leah uses Trauma-Focused Therapy to help people process difficult events and reduce their ongoing impact. This approach focuses on practical steps to manage distressing memories and reactions so daily life feels more manageable.

She also draws on Client-Centered Therapy, which centers the person’s priorities and experience. Sessions focus on listening, empathy, and helping people set their own goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is used to identify unhelpful thinking and build new coping skills for anxiety, depression, and mood regulation.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Leah will talk with a client about their goals, try methods that fit their needs, and adjust plans together over time. She aims to match strategies to what feels useful and achievable for each person.

Confirm current session options before booking, since formats are not specified here. Online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, reduce travel time, and allow for shorter check-ins when needed. Some people prefer sessions that avoid video and keep bandwidth low, while others use video for face-to-face connection. Leah will discuss practical scheduling and format preferences when arranging sessions.