ABOUT THE TRAUMA THERAPIST
Leanne Tanis MSW, LCSW, SEP
Leanne received her Master’s in Clinical Social Work at Smith College School for Social Work in Massachusetts and her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Western New England College. She is a highly skilled seasoned trauma therapist and has held both counseling and leadership positions at The Meadows in Wickenburg, AZ, a world-renowned treatment center for trauma and addiction. During that time, she received training from the top experts in the field such as Pia Mellody, Dr. Peter Levine, Dr. Shelley Uram, Dr. Tian Dayton, and Dr. Claudia Black.
As a primary counselor she worked with adults who had experienced childhood abuse, emotional abandonment, dealing with codependency issues, as well as those who desperately wanted to be sober and emotionally healthy. Her exceptional skillset and passion for recovery became contagious and ultimately led to her being promoted to positions of Clinical Director and Executive Director of the Claudia Black Young Adult Center at The Meadows. For the first 5 years of the program’s existence, she worked alongside Dr. Claudia Black developing the clinical aspects of the program and leading the treatment team. This allowed her to make a difference in the healing journeys of clients and their families on a much larger scale and she is grateful to have had such an experience. Throughout this time, her true calling of working directly with the individuals themselves to help them reconnect with the truth of who they are, always remained in the heart of her leadership. Leanne believes all of us are valuable, lovable, we are important, and we matter. She brings her clinical expertise in a relatable down to earth intuitive style that clients find to be authentic, real, and healing in itself. She is also deeply committed and grateful for her own recovery and healing process.
Her training includes: Pia Mellody's Post Induction Training, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), Narm Level 2, PACT level 1, Ropes Challenge Course, Gestalt Therapy, and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. She is also a board-certified clinical supervisor for licensure applicants through the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health.
She has spoken at various national US Journal Conferences, the Ben Franklin Institute’s Young Adult: Failure to Launch Conference, and the American Adoption Congress Conference offering CEU workshops for professionals. Her topics have included: Honoring The Survivor Within: Healing Childhood Trauma, Reaching the Resistant Young Adult, Owning the Right to Exist: Healing for the Adopted Young Adult, and the Addiction Timeline which is an experiential workshop depicting how trauma influences addiction as well as enabling and healthy boundary setting. She has spoken internationally on Treating Families Affected by Addiction and she has also spoken at St. Luke’s Air Force Base on Treating Trauma and Addiction related to those in the military. Leanne has also provided workshops with CEU’s for professionals at ASU, Baylor College, and Texas Christian University, and Connections and Collaborations at the Meadows IOP.
