I’ve been thinking lately that there are some periods in life that are often especially hard to navigate, young adulthood and middle age. And maybe every period in between and after.
Leslie Morgan is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) whose specialty centers around two clusters: “Younger adults, age 14 and older who are trying to plot the trajectories of their lives, and people at midlife responding to the changes in the trajectories of their lives.”
The first movie I saw when I moved to Bucks County in 1983 was “The Big Chill” at the Doylestown Barn Cinema on 611. It was about a group of friends confronting disillusionment upon realizing their lives had not turned out the way they thought they would.
I’ve had many occasions to think of how apropos this movie title is to various seasons of the human experience. Kids graduating? Get ready for the big chill. Divorcing, moving, changing jobs? All are pivotal moments when it would be good to tell our story to someone we knew was on our side.
Leslie is likable even to the layman because she’s not full of psychology jargon, and moreover because she readily admits “therapists come in second to pets in offering therapeutic value.”
Raised in Levittown and a graduate of Pennsbury High School, Leslie is another example of a person who switched careers in midlife. “Before becoming a therapist, I spent 25 years in the business world, starting in finance and eventually holding operations leadership roles at companies of various sizes.”
She became a true believer in the invaluable support therapy can provide through her relationship with her own therapist. “I found the therapeutic relationship to be a nourishing one and was drawn to it.”
Leslie calls her choice to become a professional therapist “One of the best decisions of my life!” She reached a point where she wanted to contribute in a different way than she had in the business world. “I decided to dedicate myself to creating the kind of experience I had known in therapy for others.”
Today, she says her efforts fall into three categories: her philanthropic local nonprofit work, her own private therapy practice, and her team culture development work in corporations. Along with Marc Kerachsky, Leslie co-founded VitalConex, a company that helps clients “…move beyond team building and business strategy to connected ensembles that problem solve and create with renewed vitality.”
She works a hybrid lifestyle. “It can’t be overstated what teletherapy has done for access to care.”
What does she like best about being a therapist? “It’s the privileged vantage point from which I get to witness the growth, healing, and authentic expression of another.
“The most difficult part is I am equally able to see all the conditions of modern life that impede human flourishing, and the feeling of frustration about how to do enough to counter these forces.”
“I will never leave Bucks County,” she says with great conviction. “I love it here which is why I bought my home in Yardley. I have always loved the simple pleasures of taking long walks among so many contiguous neighborhoods and the ability to choose so many different routes without getting bored. My dog, Carson, appreciates that too.”
She ticks off other great things about the county. “Gorgeous local attractions like parks, bike paths, the Delaware River, scenic rides during spring and fall for stunning views, and all the cute towns. I find Bucks County to be the perfect base camp from which to access anything you need, two major airports, New Jersey shore points, and easy train commutes to Philadelphia and New York City.
On her website, she quotes Alua Arthur, “What must I do to be at peace with myself so that I may live presently and die gracefully,” a question we are all living and one which informs Leslie’s practice.
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