What is it like to work with you?
A client kindly provided the testimonial below. I am very grateful!
I came to Leela hoping she would have answers—about my symptoms, what to do, when to taper, and how to navigate this journey. While she has provided invaluable insight and guidance, what she has given me goes far beyond the logistics of withdrawal and tapering.
Leela’s true gift is in helping us rewrite our stories—to see our lives through a more beautiful, expansive lens. For so long, I viewed my experiences in the medical system as a tragedy and believed myself to be inherently broken. Leela has gently but powerfully guided me toward more loving and empowering perspectives. She has helped instill in me a belief that anything is possible, that I do have the power to heal.
The wisdom she carries—from her own journey and from supporting hundreds of others—is deeply felt. I trust her all the more because I know she has lived what she is helping me through. I couldn’t be more grateful for her. She embodies the perfect balance of compassion, patience, and a loving challenge—always nudging me toward greater confidence and trust in myself and what I am capable of.
~Elyse, Colorado
How exactly do you help people?
I use a variety of tools with clients to meet your needs in the moment. Common areas in which I help:
Focus on the Future
- Meet you where you are while at the same time pointing you towards new ideas and personal growth
- Support you when you feel alone in your struggles so you can heal and move forward
- See clearly not only where you are but where you might go next
- Help you reframe difficult experiences and symptoms in more hopeful ways
- Encourage you and remind you of all the ways you have agency and power
Provide Honest Feedback
- Reflect back personal strengths and progress
- Be honest about what it would take to make a meaningful change
- Help you feel supported as you receive honest feedback
- Be willing to share my own journey when it can help you
- Provide feedback on communication with loved ones, providers, and others
- Offer accountability for you as you shift your mindset and your life
- Celebrate your victories, small and large
Problem Solve Together
- Share practical tools and strategies
- Assist with brainstorming and planning
- Support you in resolving conflicts and building trust with loved ones, providers, and others
- Provide or direct you to information most relevant to your specific needs
- Serve as an empathetic, neutral “think partner” as questions and concerns arise
- Answer “how to” and “is this normal” kinds of questions
How is your role as a coach and consultant different than a medical or mental health provider?
As a coach and consultant, I DO:
- Support you as you decide if or how to taper and withdraw from your psychiatric drug(s), either on your own or in collaboration with a medical provider
- Talk about my personal experience tapering, and the experiences of others who openly share their stories
- Introduce new information, ideas, and thinking about different ways of tapering
- Tell you if or when I think you might be taking unnecessary risks that could cause you harm
- Listen to all facets of your experience
- Help you get clear on your goals
- Help you think decisions through
- Encourage you as you write the next chapter of your life
As a coach and consultant, I DO NOT:
- Tell you how to conduct your own taper
- Tell you when to taper
- Tell you how much to taper at any point in time
- Recommend specific herbs and supplements
- Make decisions for you
- Make tapering the central or sole focus of our work together
- Represent myself as a medical provider
- Represent myself as a mental healthcare provider
- Diagnose or treat anything
- Make predictions about the timeline of your healing
How many sessions does someone typically need with you?
The number of sessions depends on your needs. My services are designed to be completely customizable: you can book time with me a-la-carte, as frequently or as infrequently as you want or need. You are never locked into a commitment for a certain amount of time or money.
Do you take insurance?
No, unfortunately insurance does not cover this work.
What forms of payment do you accept?
I accept all major credit and debit cards.
Are there any intake forms to fill out before our first session?
There are no intake forms to fill out. The New Client Foundation Session (your first session with me) is designed intentionally to facilitate a conversation between us where we explore your history, your present circumstances, and your future hopes and goals.
Can you diagnose and/or treat what’s going on with me?
No. I am not a licensed medical or mental health provider, and I cannot diagnose or treat any disease or condition.
Will you direct me on exactly how I should taper?
I don’t direct anyone’s taper. Some people choose to taper on their own; others taper under the care of a medical provider. Whichever route you take, I am here to support you as you navigate your way through the process.
Are you anti-medication?
No, I am not anti-medication. What I am is pro-fully-informed-choice. I have spoken to countless people over the years, and not a single one of them was fully informed about the medications they were prescribed when they began taking them. They were not fully informed about what we do and don’t know about how the medications work. They were not fully informed about the potential adverse effects. They were not fully informed about what eventually coming off of those medications might mean for them, or how to go about that process as safely as possible. I see the lack of fully informed choice as the problem, not the decision to use medications in the face of being fully informed. Along the same lines, I am also very much pro my clients doing whatever they need to do to be well and thrive in their lives. Sometimes in the course of working with someone, it becomes clear for that person that coming off of medication is not the right choice for them at present. I fully support my clients in their decision to stay on medication when they feel that is in their best interest.
I am in crisis, or otherwise experiencing a sense of extreme urgency around my current situation. Can you help me?
There is no universal definition of what constitutes a crisis in this context. I will hear you and make space for your experience, and I am often able to be helpful in situations that feel completely overwhelming and unmanageable. However I reserve the right to withdraw from working with any client if I sense that the urgency and unpredictability of the situation is moving beyond where I can effectively be of service.
One-on-one work may not be right for me at this time. What other resources can I explore?
There are some incredibly comprehensive and supportive resources available, many of which are free or low-cost. If one-on-one work isn’t for you at this time, know that many people have found it possible to taper, heal, and rebuild their lives using only these resources. The following may be useful places to start: