ABOUT LESLIE MCCORMICK
About
ABOUT LESLIE MCCORMICK
FOUNDATIONS
Growing up on a farm, my days were lightly structured around the rhythms of nature: sunlight, weather, the seasons, and the needs of plants and animals. The farm and its creatures were like siblings to me. The landscape was also a canvas for imagination and unfettered movement. The farm’s sparse yet reliable structures gave me access to an uninhibited and non-critical experience of essence-in-motion. I immersed myself in singing, dancing, writing, and elementary filmmaking long before I had any training in the arts. Only much later did I refine expression through technique and craft.
Leslie McCormick, Masters of Somatic Counseling Psychology
Professional Identity
Rooted in both the arts and buddhist practice when I matriculated into my masters program at Naropa University in 2003, I noted how the buddhist university’s Somatic Counseling Psychology Program and Dance/Movement Therapy track seamlessly brought together everything I was noticing about what helps humans expand beyond our conditioning. As both a creative writing institute and a Dharma school at its inception, Naropa has continued to be a playground for exploring the limits and potentials of embodiment. As psycho-spiritual beings, we can explore our conditioning in ways that help us become less wrapped up in it and glimpse beyond our limited experience of self and world.
As a therapist, I’m experientially based and present moment centered. I see creativity and beauty as essential aspects of being fully human. In 2021, I was ordained as a Buddhist Dharmacharini. I continue to pursue my own development through artistic pursuits, disciplines and inspired relationships.
I also enjoy hiking with the world’s best (other than yours!) dog, swimming, cycling, kayaking, camping, indie movies, soup swaps, community building, travel when possible, enjoyment of spiritual practice and sangha, listening to birds chirp …
Professional Experience: Clinical Settings
- Community mental health / non-profit
- Psychiatric unit
- wrap-around intervention program
- Residential Treatment Programs
- Day Treatment Programs
- Private Practice
Professional Experience: Non-clinical Settings
- Community Dance Choreographer and Performer
- public schools writer-in-residence
- Hospice Volunteer Coordinator
- public health - health equity program coordinator
- public health lgbtq youth outreach & advocacy
- non-profit - Director of Wellness and Prevention
Testimonials
“Leslie lives her work fully and gracefully, offering her skills with an open hand and an open heart. Leslie’s kindness, her genuineness, and her penetrating attention combine with decades of experience to make her in-person workshops and groups, as well as her online offerings, delightful as well as rife with immediately usable skills. I can’t think of a finer person to study with in order to cultivate my personal and professional embodied being (and doing!) in the world.”
Christine Caldwell
PhD, LPC, BC-DMT
Author, Bodyfulness
Professor Emeritus, Naropa University
Boulder, CO
“As a clinician working alongside Leslie for over three years, I was extremely impressed with her clinical expertise. I was privy to the intricacies of how she approaches her work … She is extremely effective in what she sets out to do. I highly recommend Ms. McCormick.”
Karen McGovern
LCSW
Clinical Director
Mount St. Vincent Home
Denver, CO
“Leslie’s therapeutic approach is a powerful synergy of humor, empathy and creativity coupled with a deep respect for the ‘natural intelligence’ of one’s own mind/body system. As a fellow clinician who has known Leslie and her work in the community for years, her commitment to each and every client is palpable to me. Leslie honors each client’s strengths and in doing so, brings forth their unique brilliance as a guide for their own healing process.”
Brie Anderson-Feldman
MA, LPC, BC-DMT
Boulder, CO
“Leslie McCormick is an artist and a therapist of high caliber. She brings a deep, embodied commitment to creativity and a keen attention to important and subtle detail, to her work as a clinician and teacher. Leslie genuinely likes people and attends to them with love, interest and a refined quality of perception.”
Leah D’Abate
MA, LPC, BC-DMT
Boulder, CO
“I have enjoyed working with Leslie as a colleague for over the past five years and feel very comfortable referring clients to her because of her authentic dedication and commitment to her clients’ well being. Leslie’s energy, enthusiasm, and professionalism are of top quality. She demonstrates great skill in facilitating trauma healing. I recommend her services to anyone looking for healing.”
Dale DeNunzio
PhD, MA, SEP
Tucson, AZ
“I have had the privilege of working closely with Leslie for several years now, and I can confidently say that she is an exceptional therapist. I frequently refer clients to her, knowing that they will receive compassionate, skilled, and trusted care that can make a profound difference in their lives. As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Leslie exhibits the highest level of professionalism in her practice. She upholds the ethical standards of her profession with integrity and grace, which is evident in every interaction she has with both clients and colleagues.”
Carrie “Kiki”, King
MS, LPC, LMFT
Tucson, AZ
EDUCATION
Masters of Somatic Counseling Psychology, Dance/Movement Therapy Track
Naropa University, Boulder, CO, 2006
Bachelor of Arts, English, Creative Writing; Minors in Dance and Spanish
The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 1997