Dr Kelly Leech

Dr Kelly Leech Dr Kelly Leech is a Clinical Psychologist with a PhD focusing on trauma response and recovery.

14/09/2026

Feeling worse since starting therapy? Read this before you quit

If therapy has made you feel worse instead of better, it’s easy to assume something’s gone wrong…and unfortunately, a lot of people drop out of therapy right at this point.

But often, feeling worse means things that were being avoided or pushed down are finally getting some air. That stirring up can feel worse before it feels lighter, a bit like cleaning out a wound before it can actually heal. It stings in the moment, not because something’s gone wrong, but because that’s what tending to it looks like.

If this is you right now: talk to your therapist about it, rather than deciding to quit. A good therapist wants to know you’re finding it hard and that conversation is often part of the process, not a sign to stop.

It doesn’t always get worse before better. But if it does for you, that’s not a red flag on its own.

✨ A caveat worth naming clearly: this refers to the ordinary discomfort of things surfacing in therapy… not a sign that any level of distress is something to just push through. If you ever feel unsafe, or feel like you’re struggling to cope, please tell your therapist directly, or reach out to another health professional for support straight away rather than waiting for your next session.

✨ This content is educational and general in nature, it’s not a substitute for individualised therapy or professional support. If you’re in Australia and need to talk to someone urgently, Lifeline is available on 13 11 14. If you’re elsewhere, please reach out to a local crisis line or your treating professional.

10/09/2026

Because we’re all a little nosy, here’s exactly how I’ve been talking to my own parts this week.

Honestly, it’s been a week of feedback I didn’t love hearing. The kind that sits with you a bit longer than you’d like. My over-analyser part had a lot to say about it, so required frequent check ins and support.

Nothing fancy and certainly no perfectly resolved insight at the end. Just a few lines to help the part of me that wanted to catastrophise stand down a bit, so I could actually sit with the feedback instead of spinning out over it.

✨This content is educational and not a substitute for individualised clinical care. Written with both clinicians and the general public in mind.

09/09/2026

When your client dissociates, this is where I start

Dissociation in session is one of those moments that can catch even experienced clinicians off guard, let alone when you’re early career.

The instinct is to explain, question, understand. But an offline nervous system can’t process language yet.

Regulation comes first. Explanation comes after.

In the room: Orient them…name, place, day. Slow your pace and drop your voice. Your regulation does more work than your words right now.

This is the entry point, not the whole toolkit, there’s always more nuance depending on the client in front of you.

💬Want more scripts like this? Comment ‘Guide’ and I’ll send you a free Stabilisation Starter Guide your way.

✨This content is educational and general in nature — it’s not a substitute for individualised clinical supervision or client care. Always apply your own clinical judgement to the client in front of you.

Your client apologises before they’ve even finished their sentence.The instinct is to reassure quickly with something li...
08/09/2026

Your client apologises before they’ve even finished their sentence.

The instinct is to reassure quickly with something like “no it’s not nothing”. But that skips past what’s actually happening, usually a protective part managing the risk of taking up too much space.

Reassurance doesn’t touch that but naming it does.

Swipe through for the language I’d use.

What do you usually notice underneath a your own or a client’s pre-emptive apology? Curious how this shows up in your sessions.

✨This content is educational and reflects general clinical approaches. It isn’t a substitute for individualised clinical supervision, training or therapy.

Accessible Care Pricing: a permanent 50% discount across everything I make, for clinicians working rural, remote, bulk-b...
08/09/2026

Accessible Care Pricing: a permanent 50% discount across everything I make, for clinicians working rural, remote, bulk-billing or low-fee. No application, no vetting…just a short form and a code in your inbox.

06/09/2026

You got the client to notice a sensation. Now what?

This is one of the most common stuck points I see in supervision and hands down the most requested content on social media.

The sensation gets noticed, and then… nothing. It gets acknowledged and left behind, and the client’s system slides straight back into whatever pattern was keeping them safe in the first place.

Noticing isn’t processing. The work is in staying with it long enough for something to actually shift.

A few techniques worth having in your back pocket for this exact moment:

✨Titration: working with the sensation in small, manageable doses rather than asking the client to sit with the full intensity at once. If it’s too much too fast, dose it down.

✨Pendulation: deliberately moving attention between the activated sensation and a place of relative ease or neutrality in the body. This rhythm is often what allows the nervous system to actually process, rather than just sitting in the discomfort.

✨Coping mode interview: useful when what surfaces isn’t curiosity but something like “it’s annoying” or “it’s stupid.” That’s often a protector or inner critic mode stepping in, and naming which mode is present changes what you do next.

In the room, this can sound like:
“Stay with that for a second, what happens to it the longer you notice it?”
“How do you feel toward that sensation right now?”
“Does that feel familiar at all?”

That’s the difference between noticing and processing, and it’s usually where the real work starts.

➡️This is one small piece of what’s covered in full depth (with more techniques, scripts, and case examples) inside the Embodied Parts-Work Toolbox.
💬Comment TOOLBOX and I’ll send it your way.

✨This content is educational and general in nature. it’s not a substitute for individualised clinical supervision or client care. Always apply your own clinical judgement to the client in front of you.

05/09/2026

This moment deserves more nuance than training prepares you for.

✨First: understand what’s really being asked.

This is rarely pure curiosity. Underneath it is almost always:
— Can you really understand me, or are you just theoretically compassionate?
— Am I too much for someone who hasn’t been through this?
— Are you safe? Are you human?

It’s a bid for connection, not a request for your personal history.

What not to do:

❌ Self-disclose immediately - it makes the moment about you
❌ Shut it down coldly - it confirms they’re not safe with you
❌ Deflect entirely - it skips the relational moment that’s actually happening

What to do:

✅Acknowledge before you answer.
“That feels like an important question. I’m curious what’s underneath it for you.”

✅Respond to the need, not the surface question.
“I may not have walked your exact path. What I can tell you is that I don’t find your experience too much.”

✅Use boundaried self-disclosure if clinically appropriate.
“I’ve had experiences that shaped how I understand what you carry. I won’t go into detail, but I’m not coming to this from a textbook.”

✅Then bring it back to them.
“What would it mean for you if I had, or hadn’t?”

That answer will tell you more than anything on an intake form.

✨The principle:
Self-disclosure is never about you. When you meet this question with curiosity instead of defensiveness, you model exactly the boundaried presence trauma survivors rarely get to experience.

👉 Follow me for clinical content that takes the complexity of this work seriously.

03/09/2026

I can get fixated on the times my content didn’t land…the comments that tell me it missed.

This one’s for the moments it did and for being seen for the actual intention and purpose behind why I’m doing this. 🤍

01/09/2026

💭All the insight. Nothing’s changing. Here’s why. ⬇️

You’ve probably had this client, they’ve got all the insight, they can explain their trauma perfectly, and yet nothing actually shifts session to session.

The instinct is to give them more … more psychoeducation, more explaining, more of the “why.”

But intellectualising is often a protector part doing its job… staying in the head keeps things safe and keeps feeling at a distance. More content just gives that protector more material to work with.

What I actually try is gently inviting them into the body.

🛋️ In the room:

1️⃣ Name the pattern, without pathologising it.

2️⃣ Invite a small, low-stakes shift toward sensation.

If nothing comes up, that’s okay, and useful information too.

3️⃣ Stay curious about what it was like for them, being asked.

This is a starting point, not a protocol - always apply your own clinical judgement to the client in front of you.

💬Want more FREE scripts like this? Comment Guide and I’ll send a link your way to The Stabilisation Starter Guide.

✨This content is educational and general in nature - it is not a substitute for individualised clinical supervision or client care.

“There’s nowhere that feels safe.”This is one of the most important things a client can tell you in a resourcing session...
31/08/2026

“There’s nowhere that feels safe.”

This is one of the most important things a client can tell you in a resourcing session, and one of the moments that requires the most clinical flexibility.

The exercise doesn’t stop here. It adapts.

Save this. Comment ‘Resources’ below👇 for a link to all my resources (some FREE) and many more in the making so stay tuned.

Address

Gold Coast, QLD

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Dr Kelly Leech posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category