Leslie Gray, LCMHC

Leslie Gray, LCMHC (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor), is a North Carolina-based therapist with 10 years of clinical experience helping people navigate addictions, trauma, mood disorders, and life transitions. She has extensive experience working with clients who face substance use concerns and co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and the effects of past abuse or neglect. Her practice also addresses relationship and family difficulties, grief, anger, career stress, self-esteem struggles, and compassion fatigue.

Leslie approaches therapy from an existential perspective, viewing many human struggles as part of a larger search for meaning. She pairs that orientation with a client-centered stance, focusing on each person’s priorities and strengths while setting brief, solution-focused goals. She also draws on cognitive behavioral techniques and motivational approaches when they fit a client’s needs, tailoring interventions to promote insight and practical change.

Leslie encourages clients to honor the range of emotions that arise during the healing process, including anger, sadness, and frustration, and she supports people in working through those feelings rather than avoiding them. Those ready to explore what has been holding them back may find a collaborative, empathetic partner in her work.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Leslie Gray combines client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and existential therapy to meet a range of needs. Client-centered therapy emphasizes a supportive, nonjudgmental relationship in which the therapist follows the client’s lead to build insight and self-direction - it is often helpful for people working through self-esteem, relationship, or life-transition concerns. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors, and it can be effective for anxiety, depression, stress, and coping with addictive behaviors. Existential therapy explores questions of meaning, responsibility, and choice, helping clients reframe suffering and find direction when facing grief, major change, or identity concerns.

Finding the right approach is part of therapy itself. Leslie works collaboratively with each person to determine which methods match their goals, preferences, and current circumstances, adjusting strategies over time as needs evolve. Clients are treated as active participants in planning care rather than passive recipients.

Online therapy with Leslie is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility around work, family, and geographic constraints. These options make it easier to schedule consistent sessions, maintain momentum between meetings, and access licensed professionals from home or other convenient locations.