Autistic and ADHD Therapist in Charlotte, NC

And anywhere across North Carolina and South Carolina

Hi! I’m Leah Barnes, LCMHCS

I help people just like you figure out who they are and find peace.

I help my clients make sense of who they are and how they work by equipping them with tools and systems to work with themselves as they are, not how the world expects them to be.

Many of today’s solutions for neurodivergence and anxiety work on changing who you are, without looking at what truly works best for you. This often leads to feeling misunderstood, or even shame about not getting where they want to be. I know that you are unique and need an approach tailored to working with your particular circumstances (and brain!). Your goals are what drives therapy, not anyone else’s.

First, we explore ways you feel different or triggers for feeling overwhelmed. Then, we find calming strategies, sensory environments, or accommodations that will be most effective for you. Through our work together, you’ll find the skills to calm yourself and ways to meet your own needs.

My style

What is neurodiversity affirming therapy?

My training in autism, ADHD, and anxiety means I have the expertise you need and deserve when faced with life’s stressors. But at the end of the day, you want to work with someone who fully gets what it’s like to rewrite their own past through a new lens, right?

As a late-diagnosed AuDHDer myself, I get it! I know how it feels to have that “aha!” moment, where your past suddenly all makes sense, and yet you don’t know what to do with this information moving forward. In addition to my personal experience, I make sure that the training I get is from folks with lived experience.

So when we work together, you don’t just get a trained therapist. You get someone who truly understands what you’re going through.

My guiding principles

Neurodivergence-affirming

You do not need to try to fit in a neurotypical box. We work together in ways that work for your particular brain.

Authenticity

Therapy should be “real.” No nodding along, no “what makes you ask that?” Just true human connection.

LGBTQIA+ affirming

You deserve to be respected and affirmed for who you are, not who society thinks you should be. Your gender and sexuality are an important part of who you are.

Humor

Yes, therapy is work, and is absolutely serious business. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun. And I’m always down for a good meme!

Training & Education

Featured on:

  • Mother Plus Podcast

    S3 E93

    An ADHD Professional Explains Why Motherhood is Such a Struggle for Women with ADHD: Part 1

    24 min

    Listen here

  • Mother Plus Podcast

    S3 E95

    An ADHD Professional Explains Why Motherhood is Such a Struggle for Women with ADHD: Part 2

    34 min

    Listen here

  • Holistic Counseling Podcast

    Episode 184: Expanding Your Impact Through Holistic Therapy Intensives: Interview with Leah Barnes

    40 min

    Listen here

  • Supervision Summit

    Panel discussion on neurodiversity affirming supervision

    *Recordings not available

    More information here

  • Relentless Forward Commotion

    Blog post: 7 Effective Ways to Combat the Post Race Blues

    Read Here

  • Yoga in the Therapy Room POdcast

    Episode 202: How Leah Brings Yoga into the Therapy Room: Interview with Leah Barnes

    34 min

    Listen Here