Tiana Leeds, LMFT, is a Santa Barbara-based therapist for individuals and groups. She sees clients across California online and by phone. While she focuses primarily on working with women in their 20s and 30s and highly sensitive people, she welcomes clients of all ages, genders, and backgrounds.
You’re done with feeling the weight of the anxiety or sadness you carry. You’re ready to feel the relief that comes with knowing that together with a caring professional, you are addressing the issues that burden you head-on. You long to feel settled and at home in your mind, body, emotions, and relationships. It’s time to take that first step and make the call.
You’re ready to dial, but wait! This suddenly feels so hard. How will you know if it’s the right fit? What do you even say? I get it; first-call nerves are real and very normal. Let me help by answering some of your questions right now.
These are just the questions I’m asked most often though. You will likely also have questions that are more specific to your situation and I’m happy to answer those too during our free 15-30 minute initial consultation call. You deserve to be able to make an informed decision about who to work with.
The initial consultation call is designed to accomplish two main things: I want to determine whether I am a good fit for you given what you’re working on and I want to give you an opportunity to get to know me and my approach to therapy so you determine if it’s a good fit for you too. If for any reason I don’t feel I’d be a good choice for you, I will offer to give you referrals to other therapist who might be a better fit. The structure of the call is that first I’ll ask you about what you’d like to work on in therapy and then I’ll transition to sharing about my approach to sessions. Next, I’ll also go over all of the logistical pieces like fees and scheduling. If it’s a good fit both clinically and practically and I have immediate openings, we’ll go ahead and schedule our first session if you’re ready, and otherwise, I will add you to my waitlist and reach out when a spot opens up. Most consultation calls take 15-30 minutes, but please plan for 45 minutes as sometimes these calls take more time.
Beginning in 2020, I transitioned to an all-online practice and see California clients both via phone and video sessions. I do not see clients in person and cannot see therapy clients outside of California. You are welcome to choose whether you prefer video or phone, provided that both types of sessions are clinically appropriate given what you are working on. At any given time, about half of my clients are using video sessions and half are using phone. You may choose video for a while and then switch to phone sessions or vice versa - everyone is different. Some clients enjoy doing phone sessions while taking a walk and getting some sunshine. Others prefer to be tucked into the couch with a blanket and a cup of tea during their session. I reserve certain time slots for phone sessions and other time slots for video.
Yes, I use a secure HIPAA-compliant platform called SimplePractice to offer video counseling.
More severe and life-threatening mental health issues, such as suicidal thoughts, self-harm, addictions, and eating disorders, are better addressed in in-person therapy. With these types of issues, it’s important that your therapist lives in your community and has an in-depth knowledge of the local mental health resources available to you. Additionally, in more severe cases, it’s important to see an in-person therapist so they can more easily pick up on subtler body language that might not be as noticeable online.
From tracking outcomes and doing the research, I know that weekly sessions work best for my clients. We actually progress a lot faster instead of taking two steps forward and one step back. We will establish a set time to meet each week and that will be our reoccurring weekly appointment. Sustained long-term change takes time. It’s a commitment. Clients that invest in weekly sessions get better faster and with less relapse into old patterns. As you integrate our work and are feeling closer to meeting your goals we will begin tapering your frequency, first to every other week, then monthly, eventually “graduating” you out of therapy. Sessions are 45 minutes long.
Sometimes there’s a big event coming up or one of us has been out of town for a week or two. If you feel there’s more going on than we can comfortably cover during a 45-minute session or your session feels too rushed to cover what you’d like to, we might benefit from scheduling an additional session within the week, regular longer sessions, or perhaps just a longer session now and then. We can schedule a 75-minute or 90-minute session when needed - the additional time is pro-rated based on the standard session fee.
Rather than worrying about scheduling a different time every single week, I set aside a weekly appointment time that’s protected for you- I won’t schedule anyone else during your time. I offer appointments Mondays through Thursdays from 10am - 4:45pm (ie my last appointment of the day starts at 4pm). For some clients, their schedule does not allow for a regular weekly time. I am usually able to accommodate scheduling week to week when needed.
At times I have a waiting list. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, you can fill out this brief form (https://forms.gle/ifTMMV3qwa7NHMMh8) and I will get you in for an initial consultation call quickly and will be able to offer you a start date as soon as new spots open up.
Hours are 11am-4:45pm Monday through Wednesday. Please note that all email and phone communication received Friday through Sunday will be returned at the beginning of the next work week.
All of us get sick from time to time or have something pop up at work out of nowhere. That being said, my most important goal is maintaining clinical progress whenever possible. I require 48 hours’ notice for cancellations. If you start to feel sick more than 48 hours before our appointment and believe it may interfere with your appointment, let me know and I will be happy to take you off the schedule without any late cancellation fees.
Current clients can cancel an existing appointment and request a new time using online booking via the client portal - https://tianaleeds.clientsecure.me.
I see clients ages 18 and up. While I see adult clients of all ages, but most of my clients are Gen Z and Millennials in their 20s and 30s.
My specialty is working with people who are highly sensitive but I also work with clients who do not identify with this trait. If you’d like to determine whether you may be highly sensitive go to the Self-Assessment.
While I am not an in-network provider with any insurance panels, I do provide "Superbills" for you to provide your insurance for possible reimbursement. Please check with your insurance company prior to meeting with me if you would like to determine whether they may reimburse you for our sessions - you can refer to the list of questions on my Fees page.