About Denae
Denae Leigon is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California who brings more than three decades of experience to her work. She focuses on helping people manage anxiety, stress, depression, relationship strain, parenting challenges, grief, trauma, addiction concerns, bipolar mood issues, compassion fatigue, and ADHD. Her approach is straightforward and compassionate.
She aims to build a steady, trusting connection so clients can tackle difficult topics without feeling judged. Before moving into independent practice work she spent many years in county mental health, including 19 years as a therapist and supervisor in a Children's Mental Health Department.
Background and approach
There she led parenting classes and support groups, and worked with people struggling with communication, attachment, adoption-related concerns, and behavioral issues. She also provided therapy in Juvenile Hall, gaining experience with crisis and institutional settings. Her counseling style is client-centered and open.
She combines client-focused listening with practical Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools. Sessions often include clear steps people can try between meetings to practice new habits and manage symptoms. Denae emphasizes collaboration.
She helps people set goals, track small changes, and adjust strategies when needed. Her work is grounded in real-life solutions rather than abstract theory. People who value a warm, steady therapist who uses actionable techniques may find her helpful.
She works in English and provides several online session formats to fit different schedules and needs.
How her approaches work online
Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationships shape current patterns. In sessions she helps clients notice how attachment styles affect communication and safety in close relationships, which can be useful for people dealing with relationship strain, parenting concerns, or trust issues.Client-Centered Therapy centers the client's experience and priorities. The therapist listens deeply and follows the client's lead while providing support and reflection, which can make it easier to name what's most important and set personally meaningful goals.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) provides practical tools to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. This approach is often used for anxiety, depression, stress management, and for building routines that help with focus and daily functioning.
Choosing the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with clients to identify goals and try techniques that fit their needs and preferences. She adjusts methods over time based on what is helping and what is not.
Online sessions offer flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video is useful when nonverbal cues matter, phone calls work well when bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins, and chat or messaging can fit into busy days for brief updates or questions. These options make it easier to keep therapy consistent around work, caregiving, or other responsibilities.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Parenting issues
Also listed
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- LGBT
- Self esteem
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 32 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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