Michael Leiker

Dr. Michael Leiker, EdD, LPC Licensed Professional Counselor Hi, my name is Mike Leiker and I'm a Colorado native with 20 years of experience in counseling. Our mission is to let you identify changes and then set those goals as we support you every step of the way. Are you broken, wounded, desperate, empty, guilty, or lost? Our clients appreciate that we all share common experiences, and sometimes we need some professional care. I believe you have strengths we can use in counseling to build your resilience. I'm easygoing and very compassionate and caring. I support the integrity of my clients with confidentiality and approaches that focus on the counseling relationship to build solid trust and collaboration. My clients experience warmth and empathy in each session so that they can identify and set goals based on their strengths, needs for change, insights, and especially a genuine good-natured relationship.

My approach

I offer numerous approaches and techniques to help clients make progress and feel better. They are evidence-based and I like to use thinking/behaving approaches that help regulate and reduce automatic negative thinking. I also employ helping people regulate their mood with simple biofeedback techniques, and motivational interviewing to prepare them for change in their own time using their strengths.

My focus

I typically work with adults, couples, and families. Most of my clients request help with anxiety, depression, and problems in living such as work stress, relationship problems, divorce, traumatic events, and substance abuse. Grief and bereavement are common themes, as well as divorce recovery and pre-marital counseling. I specialize in addictions and substance abuse, anxiety and panic, depressed mood, as well as traumatology.

My communication style

My nature is to communicate with a calm, good-natured, and warm style that's non-judgemental. I especially find it very helpful to listen and reflect on what is being said and continually check on accuracy. In this way, I learn to precisely identify a person's needs, and receive correction when I miss important details. After all, when people feel understood and have the motivation to change comes from deep within their emotions and thoughts, they feel in control and use their existing skills and strengths to feel better about themselves, develop more positive outlooks, and then take action to feel and function at their best.

My journey to mental healthcare

I was attracted to helping because I've always supported those who are marginalized, hurting, and just need a little help to get back on track. As I've grown over the last 25 years, I have learned that when people feel accepted, and are in a trusting, confidential place where they can talk about their deepest emotions and thoughts without guilt or blame, they very quickly identify the changes they need to make and gradually stabilize on their own with support and empathy.

My goals for you

My approach to goal setting with clients is all about working together to define what you want to accomplish in our time together as a real therapeutic partnership. This often starts by building trust between us and getting comfortable with what it means to be in therapy. Over time, we'll work together to set goals and track your progress, making sure our therapeutic alliance is strong and of real value to you.

My first session with you

What you can expect from our first session together is for us to spend the majority of our time talking about how you've been feeling recently, and me asking questions to better understand some of why you may be feeling that way. The first session is about us building an initial connection and helping me get a sense of where we should go from there. Each individual is different, and I like to listen first before assuming I know what will work best for you moving forward.