Coaching with Dr. Jennifer Leigh

[[Cy...]]

Has anyone done coaching with Dr. Jennifer Leigh and if so would you recommend?

Thank you.

[[Ma...]]

Yes-she’s terrific!

[[Cy...]]

Great! Was she generally available when you needed her? Thank you!

[[An...]]

I think her website is terrific. I read it every so often.

I have watched a lot of her youTube videos and enjoyed them.

The coaching....hmmmmm....maybe, the live interaction can help and motivate some ppl but there is really nothing that she can say to you that can make getting off benzos any easier than what you will find here at benzobuddies for free. If money is no object to you, I say go for it but if you are struggling financially, I personally would not pay for the personal coaching.

[[Si...]]

I'm not a fan of her at all, I prefer others.

[[dj...]]

15 hours ago, [[A...] said:

I think her website is terrific. I read it every so often.

I have watched a lot of her youTube videos and enjoyed them.

The coaching....hmmmmm....maybe, the live interaction can help and motivate some ppl but there is really nothing that she can say to you that can make getting off benzos any easier than what you will find here at benzobuddies for free. If money is no object to you, I say go for it but if you are struggling financially, I personally would not pay for the personal coaching.

I like her and she is knowledgeable.  Her videos are great.  If you just need some validation and support by someone with a background in psychology and who has been through it herself, she’s your person.  
 

That being said, a few sessions were enough considering the cost.  There isn’t a whole lot she can do but provide some live support over video.  She isn’t offering medical advice.  But she can explain what’s going on and help you cope with things.  Sometimes it’s worth it just to have someone like that to talk to. 
 

Honestly, the best use of your money here is to meet with her once and then have her talk to your family (if needed).  We are combing these boards by ourselves and are able to take a lot away.  Your family is not going to do that and they don’t really know what to look for.  They don’t know what to think.  Dr Jenn can spell things out very well and considering she has a doctorate in psychology, she brings some authority to the subject which family will respect.  Family members aren’t going to respect advice off internet message boards.   

[[Re...]]

Well said @[dj...]!!

[[An...]]

1 hour ago, [[R...] said:

Well said @[dj...]!!

Ditto-

[[Pe...]]

Eat a plant based diet and move more, there I just saved you a few hundred dollars. 

[[Cy...]]

8 hours ago, [[d...] said:

I like her and she is knowledgeable.  Her videos are great.  If you just need some validation and support by someone with a background in psychology and who has been through it herself, she’s your person.  
 

That being said, a few sessions were enough considering the cost.  There isn’t a whole lot she can do but provide some live support over video.  She isn’t offering medical advice.  But she can explain what’s going on and help you cope with things.  Sometimes it’s worth it just to have someone like that to talk to. 
 

Honestly, the best use of your money here is to meet with her once and then have her talk to your family (if needed).  We are combing these boards by ourselves and are able to take a lot away.  Your family is not going to do that and they don’t really know what to look for.  They don’t know what to think.  Dr Jenn can spell things out very well and considering she has a doctorate in psychology, she brings some authority to the subject which family will respect.  Family members aren’t going to respect advice off internet message boards.   

Thank you for your honest response and suggestion. By medical advice, do you mean she doesn't help with tapering strategies or give similar types of support?

 

[[Cy...]]

5 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Eat a plant based diet and move more, there I just saved you a few hundred dollars. 

Unfortunately, the clonazepam has created numerous health issues for me that prevent me from doing either of these things at this time.  I wish it was that easy. But that's part of the reason I am seeking assistance.

[[Pe...]]

I was being sarcastic. Jennifer Leigh repeats the same advice ad nausem to everybody regardless of the individualized context of their situation. I reached out to her and several other benzos coaches in times of desperation and it’s all completely worthless IMO. 

[[Cy...]]

That's so disappointing!  Thanks for your response.

[[dj...]]

1 hour ago, [[C...] said:

Thank you for your honest response and suggestion. By medical advice, do you mean she doesn't help with tapering strategies or give similar types of support?

I was actually off benzos when I first talked to her.  I think she can help with that but she’ll never actually tell you to do something.  She can discuss things with you based on what she knows, her own experience and those of her clients, but she’s not a licensed practitioner.  
 

This stuff is all so highly individualized anyway that a good tapering plan looks different for everyone.   

[[Cy...]]

Thank you, this is helpful.

[[An...]]

22 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Eat a plant based diet and move more, there I just saved you a few hundred dollars. 

LOL, true.....that is about the gist of it.

[[dj...]]

23 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Eat a plant based diet and move more, there I just saved you a few hundred dollars. 

That’s a little simplistic but sort of true lol.  I told her I wasn’t interested in a plant based diet and she never pushed it.  She has a lot of knowledge on the subject but you can find a lot of that here, or just through her videos, if you take the time.  
 

Sometimes it’s good to just talk to someone that gets it though.  If you are new to this and have no idea what’s going on, she can explain things in simple, scientific terms.  For those of us that have been around the block a while, she’s not going to tell you much you don’t already know. 
 

A lot of therapists in general are just spouting common sense, but they are able to gather information and organize it in a way that makes sense.  It’s like working with consultants at work some of the time. 

[[An...]]

3 hours ago, [[d...] said:

That’s a little simplistic but sort of true lol.  I told her I wasn’t interested in a plant based diet and she never pushed it.  She has a lot of knowledge on the subject but you can find a lot of that here, or just through her videos, if you take the time.  
 

Sometimes it’s good to just talk to someone that gets it though.  If you are new to this and have no idea what’s going on, she can explain things in simple, scientific terms.  For those of us that have been around the block a while, she’s not going to tell you much you don’t already know. 
 

A lot of therapists in general are just spouting common sense, but they are able to gather information and organize it in a way that makes sense.  It’s like working with consultants at work some of the time. 

She has a PHD in psychology, correct? Prior to her becoming sick from taking benzos herself, was she seeing patients in a clinical setting for things like anxiety and depression for example? She has never talked much about her medical credentials.

[[Cy...]]

No. The way I understand it, because of her personal experience with benzos, she decided to go into coaching, with a goal to educate providers as well, instead of getting licensed for a clinical setting.

[[Li...]]

2 hours ago, [[A...] said:

She has a PHD in psychology, correct?

 

@[An...] My understanding is that she has a PsyD not a PhD in psychology from California Southern University, an online university based in Chandler, AZ.

 

[[dj...]]

3 hours ago, [[A...] said:

She has a PHD in psychology, correct? Prior to her becoming sick from taking benzos herself, was she seeing patients in a clinical setting for things like anxiety and depression for example? She has never talked much about her medical credentials.

She has a PsyD in psychology, which is more clinical in nature (the goal here is to be patient focused).  To get that degree you have a “clinical internship” for a couple years after three years of academic study.  It’s a degree that takes five years to get (post undergrad).  
 

A Phd in psychology is more academic in nature.  

I don’t think she ever got licensed as an LPC or LPCC or LCSW because of her experience with benzos and wanting to do coaching there.  She’s very bright and well-spoken.  
 

The thing is there is only so much you can do with benzo withdrawal.  If she can charge $150/hr and keep a full book, more power to her.  But, I’ll stick to her videos and blogs for now.  If money isn’t that big an issue and you need someone knowledgeable to talk to, she can help. 

[[An...]]

4 hours ago, [[L...] said:

@[An...] My understanding is that she has a PsyD not a PhD in psychology from California Southern University, an online university based in Chandler, AZ.

OK, thanks.👍

[[An...]]

2 hours ago, [[d...] said:

She has a PsyD in psychology, which is more clinical in nature (the goal here is to be patient focused).  To get that degree you have a “clinical internship” for a couple years after three years of academic study.  It’s a degree that takes five years to get (post undergrad).  
 

A Phd in psychology is more academic in nature.  

I don’t think she ever got licensed as an LPC or LPCC or LCSW because of her experience with benzos and wanting to do coaching there.  She’s very bright and well-spoken.  
 

The thing is there is only so much you can do with benzo withdrawal.  If she can charge $150/hr and keep a full book, more power to her.  But, I’ll stick to her videos and blogs for now.  If money isn’t that big an issue and you need someone knowledgeable to talk to, she can help. 

OIC and I agree. She is extremely intelligent. For those who can afford and want the live one on one help, yes, by all means, do it. I have probably watched all of her youTube videos. I am happy she has recovered and is doing well now. I think she got well and then had a little bit of a setback for a while there.

[[An...]]

5 hours ago, [[C...] said:

No. The way I understand it, because of her personal experience with benzos, she decided to go into coaching, with a goal to educate providers as well, instead of getting licensed for a clinical setting.

Thanks Cyndi. Klonopin was the benzo she recovered from, correct?

[[Cy...]]

Yes, she was on it for 18 years.

Thanks for the info!