About Leslie Holley
MA, LCPC, LPC, NCC
Founder & CEO of Healing-Circle, LLC
My Personal Story
As the owner of Healing-Circle, I believe in the power of therapy; seeing my own therapist regularly supports my journey as a Black woman in society navigating being a mother of 2 young men.
I first came to my own journey in therapy while pregnant with my first son, fearing the racial injustices he might face and also concerned about my own medical treatment while suffering from depression.
As a Black woman, my identity has changed throughout the different stages in my life. As a Black mother, I’m fiercely passionate about healing justice, systemic advocacy, and trauma-informed care.
Finding hot yoga in 2005 helped me build and sustain somatic practices that continue to shape my mission at Healing-Circle.
My Professional Training & How I Work
I am a Nationally Certified Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, and Missouri.
I am a Howard University graduate, and I earned my Master’s in Community Counseling from DePaul University in Chicago, where I also taught Master’s level clinical counseling courses.
I have also completed extensive research on the help-seeking behaviors of African American men.
I specialize in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)-informed therapy, drawing on tapping and resourcing to build inner strengths, grounding tools, and a sense of safety.
Many times, throughout the healing journey with me, you’ll be guided through grounding and resourcing exercises to notice what’s happening inside the body and what shapes your world.
Once sessions are ongoing, you start to notice how things show up for you in your body, the root cause of recurring feelings and emotions, and utilize your personalized healing tools to move through those hard moments in life.
On My Personal Time
I enjoy working with youth through my Kings-Circle mentorship program and creating new projects. I’m currently working on a podcast I co-created called the Content Diet.
I love all things pop culture, watching the RHW franchise, especially NYC, Beverly Hills, OC, Atlanta, and Potomac. Sometimes I share my insights on my YouTube channel through my Healing-Culture segment.
Other than work and pop culture, I love spending time with my children watching 90’s movies, playing mini-golf, and going hiking. I have a small circle of friends and close cousins that I get together with monthly to laugh and unwind.
Lastly, hot yoga and my relationship with God are my foundation for everything I do.
