Dr. Leslie Merriman

Have you been impacted by narcissistic dynamics or abuse? Do you wonder if you yourself, a friend, partner, parent, or family member, might be narcissistic? What even IS narcissism, how does it manifest, and what can be done about it? I can help you get to the bottom of these questions, with compassion and non-judgment. “Many times trauma in a person decontextualized over time can look like personality." -- (Resmaa Menakem, episode 200 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso)

Life is beautiful- and life is also, often, traumatic! I help patients release and transform patterning related to trauma, without stigma or judgment about the cause. Suffering can create repetitive patterns- mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and energetically. Therapy begins with deep exploration of current states of affairs- What's going well? Where does the heart yearn for change? Then I collaborate with patients to arrive at strategies to find more ease and joy in life.

I didn't learn about healing in school. I picked up tools from spiritual seeking in many realms, as a result of my own suffering and wanting to suffer less- or at least, suffer well. I learned a lot from wilderness ventures and experiences in the natural world, meditation and mindfulness, Buddhist studies, deprogramming myself from cults (yep!), art and literature, psychedelic experiences... going deep within. I like to help patients gain intimacy with their own inner worlds.

I am a very "active" therapist. I try to offer my patients as much as I can (in terms of ideas, concepts, suggestions, approaches, tools, information)... while also striving to get to know you, so that I can respect your likes, dislikes, needs, wishes, hopes and dreams . We are partners in the process of facilitating YOUR deepest healing and thriving. I work to stay updated in my knowledge about health and healing, broadly, but will always work only within my scope of practice (psychology).

I have found mindfulness and contemplative wisdom (often from cultures outside of our Western mindsets) to be very helpful in radically transforming the most stubborn patterns of suffering. I love to teach mindfulness and meditation, and to share helpful concepts with my patients. Therapy can help patients to deepen their awareness, and I often talk with patients about concepts like compassion, self-compassion, acceptance, responsibility... and ways to put this in practice.

I often work with people with deep traumas, abuses, or issues-- but I like to help people get away from viewing themselves via stigmatizing labels that make them feel pathological, crazy, or broken. Healing need not be a heavy, unpleasant process (though it may have its moments)-- it can also have levity, and be playful and fun! Let's work together, using our humor and imaginations, so that you can enjoy this human experience, as much as possible.