---
title: Leigh Lightner, LGMFT
date: 2025-07-22T18:53:49Z
modified: 2026-10-16T01:31:32Z
permalink: "https://www.columbiapsychiatry-dc.com/team/leigh-lightner-lgmft/"
type: team
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 4688
specialty:
  - Therapy
office:
  - Columbia Psychiatry
  - Towson, MD
modality_areas:
  - Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
  - Art Therapy
  - Bariatric Counseling
  - Behavior Modification Therapy
  - Brief Therapy
  - Child Therapy
  - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  - Critical Incident Stress Management
  - Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  - Family Systems
  - Group Therapy
  - Individual Counseling
  - Psychopharmacology
  - Psychotherapy
  - Relationship and Family Counseling
  - Solution Focused Therapy
  - Testing and Assessment
  - Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
conditions:
  - Addiction & Substance Use
  - ADHD
  - Adoption
  - Affective Disorders
  - Agoraphobia
  - Anger Management & Impulse Disorders
  - Anxiety Disorders
  - Asperger’s Syndrome
  - Autism Spectrum Disorders
  - Behavioral Issues
  - Bipolar Disorder
  - Body Dysmorphia
  - Borderline Personality Disorder
  - Career Issues
  - Child Abuse
  - Chronic Illness & Chronic Pain
  - Cultural (racial, ethnic) Identity Issues
  - Death, Dying, & Terminal Illness
  - Delusional Disorders
  - "Dementia & Alzheimer's"
  - Depression
  - Developmental Disorders
  - Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
  - Domestic Violence
  - Eating Disorders
  - Eating/Food Insecurities
  - Family Conflict
  - Gambling Addiction
  - Gangs/Cults
  - Gender Dysphoria
  - Grief and Bereavement
  - Hoarding
  - Homelessness
  - Infertility or Pregnancy Loss
  - Intellectual Disabilities
  - Learning Disabilities
  - LGBTQI+ Issues
  - Marital/Separation/Divorce
  - "Men's Issues"
  - Military Lifestyle Issues
  - Mood Disorders
  - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  - Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
  - Panic/Phobias
  - Parenting Issues
  - Personality Disorders
  - Physical Abuse Victims
  - Post-Partum/Pre-Partum
  - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  - Psychotic Disorders
  - Relationship Issues
  - Schizophrenic Disorders
  - School Related Problems
  - Self-Harming Behaviors
  - Severe & Persistent Mental Illness
  - Sex Abuse Victims
  - Sexual Addictions
  - Sexual Disorders
  - Sexual Dysfunction
  - Sleep Disorders
  - Social Anxiety
  - Stress Management
  - Suicidality
  - Transition to Adulthood
  - Trauma
  - Traumatic Brain Injury
  - Trichotillomania
  - Veteran’s Issues
special_populations:
  - Co-Occurring Disorders
  - Disabilities – Learning
  - Geriatric
  - HIV/AIDS
  - Immigrant Populations
  - LGBTQI+
  - Medical Co-Morbidity
  - Refugees
language:
  - "No"
featured_image: "https://www.columbiapsychiatry-dc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Pro-Shot-1-scaled-1.jpeg"
timestamp: 2026-10-16T01:31:32Z
tags:
  - Therapy
  - Columbia Psychiatry
  - Towson, MD
  - Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
  - Art Therapy
  - Bariatric Counseling
  - Behavior Modification Therapy
  - Brief Therapy
  - Child Therapy
  - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
  - Critical Incident Stress Management
  - Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
  - Family Systems
  - Group Therapy
  - Individual Counseling
  - Psychopharmacology
  - Psychotherapy
  - Relationship and Family Counseling
  - Solution Focused Therapy
  - Testing and Assessment
  - Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
  - Addiction & Substance Use
  - ADHD
  - Adoption
  - Affective Disorders
  - Agoraphobia
  - Anger Management & Impulse Disorders
  - Anxiety Disorders
  - Asperger’s Syndrome
  - Autism Spectrum Disorders
  - Behavioral Issues
  - Bipolar Disorder
  - Body Dysmorphia
  - Borderline Personality Disorder
  - Career Issues
  - Child Abuse
  - Chronic Illness & Chronic Pain
  - Cultural (racial, ethnic) Identity Issues
  - Death, Dying, & Terminal Illness
  - Delusional Disorders
  - "Dementia & Alzheimer's"
  - Depression
  - Developmental Disorders
  - Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)
  - Domestic Violence
  - Eating Disorders
  - Eating/Food Insecurities
  - Family Conflict
  - Gambling Addiction
  - Gangs/Cults
  - Gender Dysphoria
  - Grief and Bereavement
  - Hoarding
  - Homelessness
  - Infertility or Pregnancy Loss
  - Intellectual Disabilities
  - Learning Disabilities
  - LGBTQI+ Issues
  - Marital/Separation/Divorce
  - "Men's Issues"
  - Military Lifestyle Issues
  - Mood Disorders
  - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
  - Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
  - Panic/Phobias
  - Parenting Issues
  - Personality Disorders
  - Physical Abuse Victims
  - Post-Partum/Pre-Partum
  - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  - Psychotic Disorders
  - Relationship Issues
  - Schizophrenic Disorders
  - School Related Problems
  - Self-Harming Behaviors
  - Severe & Persistent Mental Illness
  - Sex Abuse Victims
  - Sexual Addictions
  - Sexual Disorders
  - Sexual Dysfunction
  - Sleep Disorders
  - Social Anxiety
  - Stress Management
  - Suicidality
  - Transition to Adulthood
  - Trauma
  - Traumatic Brain Injury
  - Trichotillomania
  - Veteran’s Issues
  - Co-Occurring Disorders
  - Disabilities – Learning
  - Geriatric
  - HIV/AIDS
  - Immigrant Populations
  - LGBTQI+
  - Medical Co-Morbidity
  - Refugees
  - "No"
---

### Licensed Graduate Marriage & Family Therapist

![](https://www.columbiapsychiatry-dc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Pro-Shot-1-scaled.jpeg)

I am a clinician at our [Towson](https://www.columbiapsychiatry-dc.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-mfa-exports/location/towson-md.md) clinic who provides [therapy](https://www.columbiapsychiatry-dc.com/psychiatric-care/mental-health-counseling-and-therapy/) services!

Therapy is a personal journey and can have various challenges throughout your life, so I am glad you are here! I believe everyone has the capacity and wisdom within themselves to live the life they want, and I am here to help them reach their goals. Healing is a process, and I believe when clients contribute to their own growth, a new sense of wholeness and wellness can emerge.

My goals are to provide a safe and authentic space, actively listen and understand concerns, and work collaboratively with everyone involved.
I utilize integrative techniques and attachment- based approaches when working with anxiety, depression, ADHD, relationship challenges, PTSD, mental health disorders, behavioral issues, or trauma. My focus is strengthening relationship dynamics, empowering individuality, and create meaningful change.

My curiosity and openness support my ability and enjoyment of working with diverse cultural backgrounds, couples, families, individuals, adolescents, and the LGBTQIA+ community. I understand resilience, empowerment, and enjoy learning about people and how I may support them on their journey.