Leslie Urdaneta

I'm Leslie Urdaneta, an LCSW trained at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I work with children, adolescents, and adults across North Carolina via telehealth, and my practice is shaped around the experiences that often get the least clinical support: grief, the dying process, the hidden struggles of new motherhood, and the mental health weight of chronic illness or a significant diagnosis. I believe these aren't niche concerns — they're some of the most universal things people face, and they deserve specific, unhurried clinical attention. I keep a very small, intentional caseload so every client I work with receives my full attention and care.

My approach is grounded, warm, and attentive to where you are — not where I think you should be. The people I work with are often in the middle of something profound: a loss, a diagnosis, the arrival of new life that didn't come easily, or the long work of caring for someone who is dying. These experiences deserve a therapist who can hold their weight without rushing past them. I draw on CBT to help identify and shift the thought patterns that develop during stress and grief; SFBT to keep us oriented toward what's possible and what you have agency over, even when circumstances feel outside your control; and Structural Family Therapy when relationships and family dynamics are part of the picture. I work collaboratively, at a pace that respects the depth of what you're carrying.

The first session is unhurried. I want to understand who you are, what's brought you here, and what you're hoping this work might offer — whether that's a place to process grief, support through a health challenge, or help with the complicated emotions of new parenthood. You don't need to have it organized before we begin. I'll ask questions, listen carefully, and by the end we'll have a sense of what we're working toward and how we might get there together.