Barbara Lefdal
Practical, compassionate therapy for life transitions
LPC-MH South Dakota
- Experience
- 30 years in practice
- Focus areas
- Stress, Anxiety, Grief, Depression
- Approaches
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
- Languages
- English
About Barbara
Barbara Lefdal brings a client-centered, cognitive behavioral perspective to a long career in psychotherapy in South Dakota. As an LPC-MH with 30 years of experience, she focuses on helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, grief, compassion fatigue, and the practical and emotional effects of life changes.
Background and approach
Her approach blends evidence-informed strategies with attention to each person's unique history and current circumstances. She also addresses related concerns such as abandonment, caregiver stress, codependency, communication difficulties, control issues, and mood disorders, while offering support around hospice and end-of-life issues, intellectual disability, multicultural concerns, and post-traumatic stress.
Barbara combines practical techniques with reflective exploration to help clients reduce distress, improve coping skills, and navigate challenging transitions. Her practice emphasizes collaboration, respectful listening, and gradual skill-building to foster resilience and clearer decision-making.
Approaches and online options that fit your life
Barbara integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Client-Centered Therapy into online work, using structured tools to identify unhelpful thoughts and practical skills while maintaining a warm, accepting therapeutic stance. CBT helps people learn new thinking and behavior patterns useful for anxiety, depression, and stress, while client-centered work emphasizes respectful listening and helping clients find their own solutions.She also incorporates Mindfulness Therapy to teach present-focused awareness and stress-reduction practices that can complement cognitive and reflective work. These approaches can be blended based on the issue at hand and the client's preferences so the therapist and client can collaborate to find the best fit for goals and needs.
Online therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to increase flexibility and accessibility. These formats make it easier to schedule sessions around busy lives, follow up between appointments, and continue care from different locations while working with licensed professionals and therapists who tailor methods to each person.
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Areas of expertise
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
30+ years
Licensed
South Dakota
Languages
English