Leanna Acquaro, LCSW, LCDAC

Leanna’s Story

My role at Modern Psychiatry involves counseling patients with mental health issues. Always wanting to work in a field which creates a significant impact for others, I am constantly inspired by the people I serve. I genuinely enjoy helping others achieve their individualized goals by assisting them to navigate their mental health issues and/or addictions and recovery.

Throughout my career, I have served clients with mental health and/or substance use disorders. I have worked with clients at different stages of life, including adolescents to individuals in late adulthood, to achieve various short and long-term goals. Some clients aspire to establish and maintain abstinence from all illicit substances, while others want to process their traumas, or wish to better their mental health.

I am a firm believer in meeting a client where they are to honor and respect their current position in their life journey. Clients typically enter treatment at different phases of readiness. Mandated clients typically react to treatment much differently than clients who are self-referred. Some mandated clients may only have one goal, which is to complete treatment, while other mandated clients are ready and willing to dive into various problem areas.

Clients who are self-referred typically enter treatment with knowledge of their vision, while others require assistance in this area. I allow and encourage self-efficacy while providing support along the way.

I treat each client with the dignity and respect they deserve and offer an environment in which they can feel safe and understood. In this way, I establish a positive rapport that helps me better understand them and their needs.

For me, it’s imperative that I treat each client as uniquely as they are and meet them where they are. I use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Person-Centered Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in my clinical practice. I find value in understanding how different thought patterns influence emotions and behaviors, and believe that with the right tools, everyone is capable of self-actualization.