Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Leeper
Hi Jana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I obtained my master’s degree in August of 2010 from Hardin-Simmons University. I had just gotten married a few weeks before and after working full time, planning a wedding, and studying part time in Graduate school, I was too tired to study for my National Counselor Exam (NCE). A year later we moved to Plano, and I began my career as an Academic Advisor at the University of Texas at Dallas. I worked my way up to lead advisor and then Assistant Director of Graduate Advising in the Jindal School of Management. All the while, the dream of earning my license and becoming a therapist was always in my heart. After having our daughter, I stepped away from work to be with her at home full time. As her kindergarten year came closer, I knew I needed to have a goal to work toward. My best friend of 20 years and also therapist Michelle Spurgeon, LCSW encouraged me to move forward with passing the NCE, and becoming an LPC Associate, which happened in 2024. Sometimes dreams take awhile, and 14 years after completing my degree, I am finally on the path to what I always wanted to do.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Success is more like a roller coaster with twists, turns, and surprises instead of a straight path. Post-partum depression, endometriosis, and an ADHD diagnosis within the past 7 years threw myself and family for some loops. I have found the more I talk about these struggles to friends, family, colleagues, etc. the more universal struggles are. There have been so many times I’ve said, “Im struggling with this” and the person I’m talking to says, “Me, too!”
I think struggles can make us more compassionate people, and that is true for me. If I had gone directly into being a therapist after graduate school. I don’t think I would have had the maturity to be as effective as I could have been. When I worked at UTD, I met people from literally all over the world. I loved talking with them and hearing their stories which in some ways were so very different, and in other ways exactly the same as mine. It is universal to seek connection with other people even if your differences are night and day. I hadn’t experienced that in my 20’s but now in my 40’s I get it.
When someone tells me “I’ve always had a dream of doing this…” My answer is always “You should do that.” There is nothing worse than an unfulfilled dream that lives in your heart. And making that dream come true even if it’s 20 years after you first had it, doesn’t make it any less important or valid. Go do it because the time will pass anyway.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my healing from post-partum depression, my therapist and I used Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). The next goal after obtaining my LPC Associate’s license was to become EMDR trained. I want to help clients by using this modality the same way it helped me. I jumped in immediately and was EMDR basic-trained by the end of this summer. I believe that most everyone has trauma, and that it also looks different for everyone. Too many times we carry it around for a lot longer than we need to, and EMDR is a gentle way of working through trauma.
I’m most proud of not giving up. I began my freshman year in college in 2002 knowing I wanted to do psychology. Now in 2024 I obtained my License of Professional Counseling Associate which was a dream 20+ years in the making. Listening to yourself and asking yourself what you need is a muscle, and I try to help clients work that muscle in therapy. In my EMDR training our Trainers told us “The brain wants to heal, and it knows how to get there.” My job is to help the client along the way.
How do you think about luck?
To me “luck” is listening to your gut and finding good people to be around. I feel my luck in life really turned around when I met my husband. He made everything in my life better, and in turn I became a better person. I can go through the years and pick out the “lucky people”, and those were the ones who made a good impact on my life and really changed the direction on my life. I don’t know what path I would be on if those people hadn’t come along, but I love where I am now, and I’m thankful to those people and to God who put me on a good path. I like to be around people that attract good people. When I interviewed with Connect to Thrive they asked me what I was looking for. I told them I wanted to be around people who were better than me at what we do. I also think that being able to learn is a lucky trait. If you can sit back and listen to people they will tell you something that you haven’t learned, yet. I know I don’t know everything, so I’m always ready to listen, which is really useful in the therapeutic profession.
Pricing:
- $125 for Intake
- $110 following sessions
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thriveplano.com/team/jana-leeper
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jana-leeper-plano-tx/1328164
Image Credits
2 pictures of Jana in. a black shirt including the “group” photo are from Kelsey D’Amore.
All other pictures are from Robert Leeper.
