About Me

leigh in shorts and tank top, arms crossed over one knee in black and white

Leigh Witzling, MA
(they/them)

 

I am a psychotherapist working with teens and adults on unceded Abenaki territory, also called Southern Vermont. I am a white, queer, nonbinary, chronically ill, Ashkenazi Jew who loves poetry, dancing, and the color yellow. Originally from the midwest, I have found great joy in building a life in rural New England with my dog Louie, who is often sitting at my feet during telehealth sessions. After eight years working with high school and college students in residential life, I am thrilled to continue working with young people in a private practice setting.

Lineage

Understanding where we come from can help us understand ourselves, allow us to offer gratitude to those who came before us, and give context to our ways of being.

I come from an ancestral web of Eastern European Jews and Western European colonizers, some whom were stolen from, or were stolen themselves, and many who stole from others. I am called to healing work by the desire to be in healthy relationships with the land and the people around me, given the complex multitude of lineages I carry with me. I am called to reclaim identities that were stolen from my ancestors, offer reparations for the land and humanity my ancestors stole, and move forward with a sharing-based framework.

Education

 

I received my BA in Dance/movement Therapy from Knox College in 2014 and my MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling in from Antioch University New England in 2018. I am also a Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT) with the American Dance Therapy Association. I am a member of the TRACC4Movements Healers Network and the Kinstsugi Therapist Collective’s Embodied Private Practice program.

I am equally humbled by education outside academia, from direct healers, teachers, mentors, and communities. I am especially grateful to Jennifer Smith, Kim Burden, Jo Kent Katz, Jessica Taylor, Em Megas-Russell, my current and former clients, and the students at The Putney School for shaping me as a thinker, dancer, and healing practitioner.

I draw from teachings by organizations including TRACC4Movements, Sins Invalid, Health Justice Commons, Generative Somatics, Earthdance, and Fireweed Collective.

I am committed to being an active learner, and I value learning from books, podcasts, community-based organizations, trainings led by people with marginalized identities and/or direct experience with particular topics, and my own experiences. I value science and I value stories.