Leoni Harrington LICSW

Psychologist | Psychotherapy

45 Newbury Street Suite 333 Boston MA, 02116 Show map

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About

Leoni is a licensed independent clinical social worker with a private practice located at 45 Newbury Street, Boston MA. She has been in practice since 1996, working in various public schools and mental health agencies, including Family Services of Greater Boston, where she was a clinician for 13 years and supervised graduate social work interns. Her private practice, Pathways 2 Wellness, was established in 2009. She currently works with individuals, couples and families, providing services in wellness, trauma, and performance enhancement.

Leoni has always turned to movement - through dance and exercise - for release and renewal. Eager to share its deeply healing potential with others, she decided to pursue a second career in fitness, thus blending her passions for holistic wellness, group exercise and teaching. Over the years, Leoni has particularly enjoyed witnessing the power of movement, especially dance, as a therapeutic outlet and healing modality. She currently teaches a variety of formats at a number of fitness clubs in the Boston area.

Leoni considers her fitness career an extension of her full time psychotherapy and hypnotherapy practice, where the common denominator is connecting to the core - the physical core as well as the core self. She has a dynamic teaching and therapy style, encouraging her groups and clients to be mindfully aware and fully engaged in the moment, as well as to use their breath to center and align themselves and move past their self-imposed limitations. She inspires and empowers her participants and clients to pursue their fitness and life goals with passion and focus, and to lead fuller, healthier, more balanced and more meaningful lives that honor their own profoundly unique road to self-discovery.

Education and Training

BUSSW MSW 1998

Board Certification

Florida Department of Health

Board of Registration of Social Workers

Florida Board of Clinical Social Work

Massachusetts Board of Social Work

Provider Details

Female English, Spanish, French, Greek

Areas of expertise and specialization

CERTIFICATIONS: Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker; Advanced Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy; Hypno-behavioral Hypnotherapy; Critical Incident Stress Management; Trauma Evaluation and Treatment SPECIALTIES: Anxiety, Depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Relationship issuesMODALITIES: Individual, Couples, Family and Group Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Telemental Health, Clinical Supervision TYPES OF THERAPY: Coaching, Cognitive Behavioral, Dialectical Behavioral, Mindfulness-based (MBCT), Solution-Focused Brief (SFBT), Existential, Integrative, Humanistic, Hypnotherapy, Tapping (EFT), Positive Psychology, Transpersonal, Exercise Therapy

Awards

National Honor Society 1991 College du Leman, Switzerland
Golden Key Honor Society 1996 Boston University
Psi Chi Honor Society 1996 Boston University
Top Psychotherapist in MA 2018 IAHCP

Professional Memberships

National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists (NBCCH)
National Association of Heart-Centered Hypnotherapists
Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)
Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN)
Les Mills Instructor Network
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

Professional Society Memberships

-National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists (NBCCH)-National Association of Heart-Centered Hypnotherapists-Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)-Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN)-Les Mills Instructor Network-National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

Articles and Publications

-She's been featured in a magazine article in Z Life. www.facebook.com/zumba/posts/1029979133689425-Her long term work with diabetes patients at the Dorchester House Multi-service Center was featured in a Boston Globe article in December 2006, A Quiet Epidemic.

What do you attribute your success to?

-Her mother, whose unconditional love encouraged her to believe in herself, trust her instincts, and pursue her dreams-The 3 P's: Purpose, Passion, Perseverance -Growth Mindset, Creative Thinking-Intentionality and Discipline-Commitment to others and to her own self-care

Philanthropic Initiatives

Leoni has conducted multiple fundraisers for various charities, non-profit programs and clubs, and to raise relief money for disaster victims.

Teaching and speaking

SPEAKING: Leoni has been a lead presenter on a variety of therapy and wellness-related topics over the years. Most notably, in 2010 she conducted a workshop with a colleague at the NASW Symposium in Boston: "Moving Through It: Incorporating Exercise Into Clinical Social Work Practice", which explored the psychological and emotional benefits of exercise and presented specific ways clinicians can use exercise as a therapeutic tool within psychotherapy. TEACHING: Her fitness certifications include Primary Group Exercise, Personal Fitness Trainer, Kickboxing, Indoor Cycling Power Pacing, Spinning (Mad Dogg Athletics), Group Power (Mossa), Body Pump (Les Mills), Zumba, Zumba Gold, Zumbatomic, Zumba Toning, Zumba Step and Aqua Zumba. She designed a specialized group exercise regimen for individuals with Type II Diabetes Mellitus and ran two weekly groups for over 5 years at the Dorchester House Multi-service Center, with an emphasis on the mind-body connection/meditation/relaxation response, cardiovascular endurance, functional and strength training, and nutritional basics. (Refer to Boston Globe article) She currently teaches a variety of group exercise formats at a number of fitness clubs in the Boston area, including Bodyscapes, Boston Sports Club, Healthworks, and the YMCA.

Hobbies / Sports

On her time off she enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, traveling, hiking, cycling and dancing.

Favorite professional publications

Various publications relating to: Psychology, Social Work, Psychotherapy, Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Research, Health and Wellness, Exercise, Mindfulness

Areas of research

Leoni’s first internship was in 1996 at the American Red Cross, where she conducted disaster relief services and used emergency response protocols to help victims rebuild their lives. Her second year internship was at the South Boston Community Health Center, where trauma and addictions were recurring themes.

Her career path continued at the North End Community Health Center, where she provided mental health services to individuals, couples, families and groups, and where she conducted trainings and community education to neighborhood schools and community agencies.She was subsequently recruited by Family Services of Greater Boston (FSGB), where she became one of their most valued and productive clinicians, providing a wide range of clinic-, school-, and home-based services to individuals and families in need. Over the course of her 13-year employment at FSGB, she was actively involved in the Trauma clinic, was a key member of the Diversity Committee, acted as clinical liaison to neighborhood schools and community organizations, assisted the Research and Evaluation team to develop a proposal to bring evidence-based practices to the agency (which was subsequently funded by SAMSHA), and supervised second year graduate social work interns from Boston College. Leoni’s private practice, Pathways 2 Wellness, was established in 2009.

Leoni has also been a lead presenter on a variety of therapy and wellness-related topics over the years. Most notably, in 2010 she conducted a workshop with a colleague at the NASW Symposium in Boston: “Moving Through It: Incorporating Exercise Into Clinical Social Work Practice”, which explored the psychological and emotional benefits of exercise and presented specific ways clinicians can use exercise as a therapeutic tool within psychotherapy.

Over the years, Leoni has particularly enjoyed witnessing the power of movement, especially dance, as a therapeutic outlet and healing modality. She was featured in a magazine article in Z life about Zumba and psychotherapy: https://www.facebook.com/zumba/posts/1029979133689425

She designed a specialized group exercise regimen for individuals with Type II Diabetes Mellitus and ran two weekly groups for over 5 years at the Dorchester House Multiservice Center, with an emphasis on the mind-body connection/meditation/relaxation response, cardiovascular endurance, functional and strength training, and nutritional basics. She was featured in a Boston Globe article in December 2006, “A Quiet Epidemic”.

Her fitness certifications include Primary Group Exercise, Personal Fitness Trainer, Kickboxing, Indoor Cycling Power Pacing, Spinning (Mad Dogg Athletics), Group Power (Mossa), Body Pump (Les Mills), Zumba, Zumba Gold, Zumbatomic, Zumba Toning, Zumba Step and Aqua Zumba.

She currently teaches a variety of group exercise formats at a number of fitness clubs in the Boston area, including Bodyscapes, Boston Sports Club, Healthworks, and the YMCA. In addition to leading dynamic classes for gym members, she has conducted multiple fundraisers for various charities, non-profit programs and clubs, and to raise relief money for disaster victims.