Barbara Lefdal, LPC-MH

Barbara Lefdal is a licensed professional counselor with 30 years of clinical experience in South Dakota. She focuses on supporting people through depression, anxiety, grief, and major life changes. Her work often centers on stress and compassion fatigue, and she provides direct help for caregiver concerns and isolation.

Barbara uses straightforward, person-focused methods to help people manage painful feelings and regain some steadiness. She listens closely and helps clients find small, practical steps to feel better. Conversations may cover relationships, money worries, control issues, or challenges that come with aging and caregiving.

She blends several therapeutic styles to match what each person needs. That can mean identifying unhelpful thinking patterns, practicing mindfulness skills to reduce reactivity, or opening a space to talk about long-standing emotional themes. Motivational approaches are used when people want support making lasting changes.

Her background includes work with hospice and end-of-life issues, intellectual disability, and multicultural concerns alongside customary mood and stress disorders. Barbara draws on long experience to offer steady guidance during transitions like divorce, separation, or the loss of a loved one.

People who reach out receive practical strategies as well as time to process strong feelings. The aim is clearer thinking, more manageable daily routines, and a stronger sense of personal agency when caregiving roles or life stages feel overwhelming.

Approaches you might use in online sessions

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening without judgment and helping people feel heard. It helps when someone needs time to sort through emotions and make decisions at their own pace.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts affect feelings and behavior. It uses practical exercises and simple experiments to reduce anxiety, change unhelpful thinking, and build coping skills.

Mindfulness Therapy teaches brief practices to notice thoughts and body sensations without getting swept away. These skills can reduce reactivity to stress and support calmer responses during caregiving or difficult transitions.

Choosing the best approach is a joint process. The therapist will talk with each person about goals, preferences, and what feels most useful. Over the first few sessions the plan can shift as needs become clearer.

The profile does not list specific session formats, so confirm current online or in-person options before booking. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy day, shorten travel time, or keep a regular check-in during caregiving demands. Therapists can also adapt tools and short exercises to work well when meeting remotely.