Amanda Leftridge , LCSW

Amanda Leftridge is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who helps people cope with stress, anxiety, grief, and life changes. She supports concerns such as depression, self-esteem, relationship and intimacy issues, trauma and abuse, sleeping problems, anger, and career stress. Amanda also works with people facing health challenges and women's issues. She offers a calm, respectful approach and aims to remind clients of their strengths.

Amanda uses practical tools from cognitive behavioral therapy to help people shift unhelpful thinking and behaviors. She pairs that with mindfulness practices to build grounding skills for emotional moments. Sessions also draw on solution-focused and psychodynamic ideas when those approaches fit a client's needs.

Her background includes work in oncology settings where she provided case management and mental health support to patients living with cancer and to their loved ones. That experience shaped her interest in caregiving stress, chronic illness, hospice and end-of-life counseling, and related concerns like HIV and chronic pain.

Across three years of practice as an LCSW in Missouri, Amanda has worked with people at many stages of life and with a range of health and emotional issues. She describes her work as collaborative and strengths-based, tailoring goals to each person's situation.

Amanda identifies as LGBTQIA+ friendly and emphasizes respect, dignity, and compassion in sessions. She avoids stigmatizing labels and aims to offer a safe space where people can talk honestly and build coping skills.

How Amanda’s Approaches Work Online

Amanda uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help clients spot unhelpful thoughts and try small behavior changes that can reduce distress. CBT is useful for anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and stress-related issues. She also incorporates mindfulness therapy to teach simple attention and breathing practices that calm the body and improve focus during difficult moments.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Amanda will talk with each person about goals and preferences and adapt methods over time. That means trying an approach, checking how it fits, and changing course if something else would help more.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video lets people see facial cues and do longer conversations, while phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or when someone prefers not to be on camera. Live chat and text messaging are useful for quick check-ins, brief coaching-style support, or when someone needs flexible timing during a busy day. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caregiving, or treatment schedules.