Leslie Zarker, LPC, LCPC

Leslie Zarker is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) licensed in Missouri and Illinois with six years of clinical experience. She works with adults on concerns such as stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, relationship strain, grief, and coping with life changes. Leslie also supports people facing compassion fatigue, bipolar challenges, and career or intimacy-related issues.

Her approach is straightforward and conversational. Sessions focus on naming patterns that started in the family of origin and looking at how those patterns show up now. She encourages clear talk about feelings and reactions, and helps people practice different ways to respond to old roles and expectations.

Leslie draws on evidence-based therapeutic techniques to guide sessions. She spends early meetings understanding a person’s history and current stressors, then plans short-term steps alongside longer-term work. That may include skills for managing anxiety, improving communication, or processing difficult memories.

She pays attention to attachment and abandonment themes when those are central to a person’s concerns. She also addresses related issues such as body image, codependency, caregiver stress, and family problems without assuming the same cause for every client.

Leslie keeps language direct and practical. She asks concrete questions, offers straightforward observations, and practices new responses in-session. The focus is on changing patterns learned in childhood so they have less power in adult life.

Online sessions and commonly used approaches