Biography

After a stint as an HR manager and regional recruiter and trainer for a big box retailer, Leslie trained to become a nationally certified (NIC) American Sign Language (ASL)/English interpreter, some days getting to meet Barack Obama or His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and some days being covered in donkey sneezes (at a veterinary clinic). After many years teaching and practicing interpreting, Leslie attended graduate school at Michigan State University, later becoming an independently licensed clinical social worker in Michigan, now living in Ann Arbor. She then worked over 10 years in medical settings, in NICU, mother/baby unit, and pediatrics, and  in primary care clinics for Michigan Medicine (UM Health).  Most recently Leslie has shifted focus to fostering a vibrant private practice, and still doing a bit of interpreting when she can. From being in medical settings, Leslie brings knowledge of application of EMDR to (chronic) medical conditions, medical trauma, as well as general applications of PTSD and complex trauma. Leslie specializes in EMDR in the perinatal/reproductive years-  she is a certified perinatal mental health clinician through Postpartum Support International- and finds great meaning spending some time with clients on the journey of the losses (pregnancy, infant loss, TMFR, birth trauma) that sometimes accompany those who seek the pathways to parenthood. Leslie also has joined her two great passions, service to the Deaf community, and being an EMDR therapist to have accommodated standard protocol in ASL to many Deaf clients throughout her career, and to others who need creative flexibility to access this healing modality; she has presented at regional and national conferences on the topic of accommodating EDMR to people with language/sense differences, and topics of the intersection of interpreting and psychotherapy. Leslie is an approved consultant under the mentorship of Mara Tesler Stein and enjoys leading consultation groups and individual sessions to new and seasoned EMDR therapists across the country, and around the globe.