Resilience Family Therapy Ventura
Helping kids, teens & their parents through the hard stuff in life
Give me a call today to see if I might be a good fit for you & your family!
Leah French, LMFT
Hi, I’m Leah! I’m a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Ventura, CA specializing in working with children and teens. I’m passionate about helping families - kids, parents, and everyone in between - learn how to overcome challenges and adjust to life’s transitions. The majority of my practice focuses on the kinds of things families face every day: emotional or behavioral issues, communication, depression, anxiety, perfectionism and overachievement stress, school struggles, past trauma, addiction, parenting challenges, and family conflict. I work to help families adjust to life’s natural transitions such as starting school or college, birth of a new child/sibling, blending families, young adulthood & more.
I have extensive experience with higher acuity issues like self-harm, suicidal ideation, substance or alcohol abuse, juvenile court involvement or placement in higher levels of care. I also specialize in supporting local boarding school students where I am able to travel to campus to provide mobile therapy on site. As a boarding school therapist, I work collaboratively with many local schools and have experience and insight into the very unique culture and potential challenges that boarding school life presents.
I use a very down-to-earth and client-centered approach to work with you to identify YOUR goals and pain points you want to overcome and walk alongside you providing tools and guidance to help you get there. I combine evidence-based techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Solution-focused Therapy with play, interactive exercises, and conversation seeking to get to know you and make therapy a personal, meaningful, enjoyable, and effective experience.
And while some of that may sound like a lot of psychobabble, I can assure you that the space I provide will always feel conversational, comfortable, encouraging, validating and unlike typical “therapy.” Most of my child, teen and parent clients have shared that I’m “not your typical therapist,” and even the ones most resistant to starting share that they actually look forward to coming! My goal is for you to feel seen and heard and discover or remember your best self!
-
Child Counseling
Finding a therapist for your child can be scary and challenging. How do you even know if your child needs therapy? Even if your child can’t verbally tell you what’s wrong, they are telling you. Their behaviors and ways they interact with you, their teachers and their friends send you clues that they need some extra support.
-
Teen Counseling
Adolescence is HARD. Finding a therapist who is experienced & skilled at connecting with teens can be even harder! Leah French, LMFT has spent her career specializing in working with struggling teens & their families.
-
Family Counseling
Families are under more stress and pressure than ever. The struggles of one child or parent never occur in isolation and always affect every other household member. Family counseling can be transformative and a sacred place to pause, tune in to one another, find new ways to communicate and support one another, and improve your relationships.
-
Addiction & Recovery Counseling
Addiction affects everyone. Whether you are struggling with addiction or are the family or loved one of an addict, having a safe space to process the triggers and effects of addiction is a key component of lasting recovery.
“Thank you for giving me motivation to change. I will stay sober.”
— Former teen client
“I wanted to say that you were instrumental in changing the course of my life.”