Our Staff: Leslie Bandle

Leslie Bandle MA, MFA

Registered MFT Intern, IMF #60234
Supervised by Cheryl Krauter, MFT
Licensed MFT #14759

I have a strong, warm and compassionate approach to assisting others on their individual journey towards inner wisdom and change. I thrive on listening and truly getting to know you and your needs and assisting you on the path to fulfilling them. I love what I do.

When I sit with clients, I am interested in creating an environment where they feel safe, heard and empowered. I especially find it rewarding to help clients find and express their inner truth which all too often gets stifled out of fear. How often do we stop from telling someone what we really need because we are afraid of how they might react?

Ultimately, I am a client centered therapist. I believe that you know what you need and have the solutions within you to meet them. I let you take the lead and work along with you as your partner using only therapeutic methods that you are comfortable with. Perhaps you are looking for guidance. If so, we would explore alternatives until you intuitively felt confident that you had found a direction. Or perhaps you would simply like to be heard. If so, I would listen, support, and encourage. If talking about your life concerns no longer seemed to be effective, I might suggest alternatives to words like movement, music, art, human molding or playwriting. Imagine taking a personal issue, turning it into a play and creating alternative endings as a way to try on different solutions. Or imagine rewriting a part of your history and having actors perform it with you as the director. The power of this can be enormous and life altering.

I have a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology from John F. Kennedy University and a Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre from Rutgers University. My schooling has been a great resource, but I also draw upon my life experiences. There is nothing like the ups and downs of being in a relationship for over 20 years, chasing two small children, battling food and body issues and switching careers mid life to help teach one how to navigate some of life’s challenges.

I enjoy working with all types of people from every orientation and have specific experience working with those suffering from eating disorders, couples seeking to improve their relationships, children with attachment disorders and those who are in the throws of grief.

Together I look forward to exploring the challenges you face and creating solutions that work for you personally.

© Blue Oak Therapy Center    Sitemap
3101 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94705    Phone: (510) 649-9818
Clinical director is Stuart Sovatsky, PhD, MFT Licensed #MFC 19173.