Courtney Leigh Cooke, M.A., AMFT #115962
Primary Therapist, Santa Cruz, She/Her
Courtney Leigh Cooke is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (#115962), supervised by Jeanne Willis LMFT #94883. Courtney has a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Health Psychology from Santa Clara University, and received her Bachelor's in Psychology and Social Action from Palo Alto University.
She began at Lotus in August, 2020, and brings with her over 13 years of experience in the mental health field. Her experience as a mental health provider spans sundry populations including children and adolescents with suicidal ideation, adolescent domestic violence survivors and perpetrators, adolescents and adults with substance-use disorders, adolescents and adults with eating disorders, and adults with severe mental illness.
Within Lotus, Courtney provides individual therapy for adults and individual as well as family therapy for adolescents. Courtney offers trauma-informed care, meaning she is knowledgeable of the frequency with which trauma occurs and has been trained around meeting clients where they are at with their individual needs and sensitivities. She offers a strengths-based approach to therapy, by viewing clients as resourceful and resilient. Courtney encourages clients to self-identify and build on their strengths with her guidance, empathy and encouragement. Courtney is client-centered in her therapeutic approach, which allows and encourages clients to advocate for themselves and become an agent in their own recovery.
Courtney is passionate about utilizing various modes of therapy in sessions including (but not limited to) Narrative Therapy, DBT, and CBT, as well as utilizing mindfulness, crisis intervention and motivational interviewing techniques in order to tailor therapy to each individual client and family's needs. Her eclectic therapeutic approach focuses on identifying and then replacing shame-based thinking with self-compassion and forgiveness while encouraging ongoing vulnerability in the recovery process.
Outside of work, Courtney enjoys spending her free time with friends, family, and her Maine Coon. She particularly enjoys listening to music, hiking, horseback riding, comedy, writing poems and journaling.
She began at Lotus in August, 2020, and brings with her over 13 years of experience in the mental health field. Her experience as a mental health provider spans sundry populations including children and adolescents with suicidal ideation, adolescent domestic violence survivors and perpetrators, adolescents and adults with substance-use disorders, adolescents and adults with eating disorders, and adults with severe mental illness.
Within Lotus, Courtney provides individual therapy for adults and individual as well as family therapy for adolescents. Courtney offers trauma-informed care, meaning she is knowledgeable of the frequency with which trauma occurs and has been trained around meeting clients where they are at with their individual needs and sensitivities. She offers a strengths-based approach to therapy, by viewing clients as resourceful and resilient. Courtney encourages clients to self-identify and build on their strengths with her guidance, empathy and encouragement. Courtney is client-centered in her therapeutic approach, which allows and encourages clients to advocate for themselves and become an agent in their own recovery.
Courtney is passionate about utilizing various modes of therapy in sessions including (but not limited to) Narrative Therapy, DBT, and CBT, as well as utilizing mindfulness, crisis intervention and motivational interviewing techniques in order to tailor therapy to each individual client and family's needs. Her eclectic therapeutic approach focuses on identifying and then replacing shame-based thinking with self-compassion and forgiveness while encouraging ongoing vulnerability in the recovery process.
Outside of work, Courtney enjoys spending her free time with friends, family, and her Maine Coon. She particularly enjoys listening to music, hiking, horseback riding, comedy, writing poems and journaling.