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@TheTherapyGal

Leeor Gal '19

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was immeasurable but oftentimes invisible, affecting not only the physical but also the mental health of individuals across the globe.

For Leeor Gal, a 2019 graduate of Thomas Jefferson University’s Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s program, finding a new path and creating a new normal to best serve her patients and those needing support during those tumultuous times was paramount.

The growing popularity of TikTok in 2020 was a perfect medium for Gal, whose passion for video creation began as a child. Utilizing its expressive, engaging platform, she began to create silly, yet relatable and educational videos designed to destigmatize therapy and mental health issues, and her viewership soared.

Her videos provided comfort and entertainment as well as information and acceptance, helping to assuage loneliness and create desperately needed connections in a world of worry and isolation.

“Initially, I made one video with a silly song and dance about being a therapist and knowing I looked young,” she shares. “I got a flood of following. People related to that video so much. I thought, ‘I have a voice here. I can do something with it.’”

It was about authenticity. I created attention around mental health topics that people could relate to.

Leeor Gal '19 @TheTherapyGal

This new communication tool allowed people the opportunity to get to know her. “It was about authenticity,” she shares. “I created attention around mental health topics that people could relate to. Therapy used to be hush-hush, or people might have thought it was embarrassing to talk to a therapist, but I wanted to make it accessible, entertaining, and to show people that while it’s challenging to be in therapy and to work on yourself, it is actually really cool and fun.”

Today, Gal still has some of the same clients who got to know and joined her through her earliest social media presence.

Gal’s journey to Jefferson and marriage and family therapy began after she received her undergraduate degree in public relations from Rutgers University. Within six months following graduation, she knew it was time to follow a new path. “I went back, completed my prerequisites, and applied to Jefferson’s master’s program,” she says. “It was the best decision I’ve made in my life. I now have the best job and best fit for me.”

Her Jefferson education provided the solid foundation to prepare her for the future and the inspiration to grow her experience and knowledge and create the practice of her dreams. Her introduction to clinical work began almost immediately, when two months into the program, she began to work with her first clients.

“I was never a good test taker, but I’m really good at learning by doing,” Gal shares. “As we learned a new skill or type of therapy, I would be able to apply it within a session in real time. Learning from my professors allowed me to understand what type of therapist I wanted to be.”

She appreciates that her Jefferson program not only focused on marriage and families but also focused on individuals and groups, utilizing a systemic framework for treating each patient.

“While you have an individual sitting in front of you, they are part of their larger system,” she explains. “This means they have their family, friends, relationships, religion — all make up who they are. I loved the idea of looking at my patient as more than just the individual who is sitting in front of me. The program helped me to identify that it is so much more complex than just, ‘What are you coming in for today?’”

Today, Gal has fulfilled her dream of opening a group practice. While she specializes in helping patients with family issues, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and navigating relationships, she also employs and mentors four other therapists with varying therapeutic specialties. She has found that the birth of her son a year ago has served to further magnify her empathy, compassion, and passion for service to others, including her patients as well as the therapists in her practice.

“Mentorship is one of my favorite things,” she shares. “I say, ‘I’m always here. Don’t ever hesitate to ask me questions.’ It’s important to me to have compassion and understanding for my employees as well.”

Gal treasures her clients’ successes and milestones, striving to ensure that they never feel alone and always feel accepted, heard, and understood.

“I learn from my patients and never take that for granted,” she says. “It can be the smallest things that really connect with people. One of my favorite times is, when following a session, my client will return and say, ‘What you said last week changed my life.’ Or, I have discharged a client, meaning we had great sessions together, they have been able to persevere and overcome obstacles, and they feel good. Later, I get an update from them, like, ‘I had the baby’ or ‘I passed my exam’ or ‘I graduated college.’ Those are the greatest gifts for me.”

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