Approach to Therapy

Dr. Taylor likes to make therapy an empowering, accepting, and tailored experience where it is safe to explore and learn. It is Dr. Taylor’s belief that therapy should be a collaborative process, where client and therapist work together to reduce the impact of symptoms while increasing positive, joyful experiences. She believes a solid understanding of one’s anxiety, including triggers, thoughts, feelings, and associated behaviors is a pivotal first step in treatment. Dr. Taylor then works with clients to rebuild valued activities into their day to day lives, while decreasing the control fear has over clients’ behaviors, bodies, and decision making. She involves parents, family members, and other support persons in treatment so that patients can create lasting change in their unique environments.

Dr. Taylor has been described by clients as warm, affirming, and compassionate. She uses humor to ease into the therapy space, as therapy can be a scary experience at first! She believes knowledge is power, and enjoys teaching patients and families about anxiety and the process of treatment so that clients can become experts in taming their anxiety.

Experience and Training

Dr. Leslie Taylor earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She completed her doctoral clinical psychology internship with the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Trauma and Anxiety Disorders with the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. During this fellowship, she gained expertise in specialty PTSD care particularly with co-occurring substance use disorders, as well as transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders, including panic, phobias, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, etc. Prior to joining The OCD & Anxiety Center, Dr. Taylor worked full-time as a staff psychologist with the PTSD Clinical Team at the Michael E. DeBakey VA providing evidence-based assessment and treatment for trauma- and stressor-disorders. She helped to implement the Houston VA’s first accelerated PTSD treatment program and published peer-reviewed articles related to the assessment of PTSD.

Dr. Taylor specializes in the use of cognitive behavioral therapy and exposure therapies for OCD, trauma, and anxiety concerns. She is experienced working with kids, teens, adults, and families. She is trained in exposure and response prevention for OCD by the Cognitive Behavior Institute, and is also a certified provider in Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD. Further, she is trained in individual CBT and exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, and couples CBT for PTSD (Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD). Dr. Taylor also likes to integrate acceptance and commitment therapy, family systems interventions, and whole health practices into her work. She successfully treats OCD, PTSD, phobias, and all types of anxiety-related conditions, as well as disorders which can often co-occur with anxiety (i.e., depression, substance use, etc.). She is a member of the International OCD Foundation and enjoys attending conferences and engaging in continuing education.

More About Leslie

Leslie was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia and attended undergraduate education at The University of Georgia. After spending time in Kansas City for graduate training, she moved to Texas—each location has shaped her into a BBQ connoisseur. She enjoys spending time with her family, the outdoors, watching football, and weight lifting.