Barbara Lefdal, LPC-MH

Barbara Lefdal is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health (LPC-MH) practicing in South Dakota with 30 years of experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, grief, depression, compassion fatigue, and major life changes. Barbara also addresses codependency, caregiver strain, isolation, and the emotional effects of aging and loss.

She listens to what is happening now and helps people name what feels most urgent. Sessions focus on practical steps for managing mood, handling difficult conversations, and getting through bereavement or transitions. She uses clear, ordinary language and keeps work focused on concrete changes clients can make.

Barbara draws on a mix of client-centered methods, cognitive behavioral strategies, and mindfulness practices to reduce distress and increase day-to-day coping. She also uses motivational interviewing to clarify goals and psychodynamic ideas to look at long-standing patterns. Those approaches are combined to fit the problem a person brings to the room.

Her background includes decades helping older adults, caregivers, and people feeling isolated. She brings particular attention to issues like guilt, shame, abandonment, money stress, and trauma reactions. Barbara pays attention to how life context - such as caregiving demands or aging - shapes emotional strain.

People who reach out can expect focused, steady work on setting boundaries, managing anxiety, and coping with loss. Sessions aim to reduce overwhelm and increase the ability to make choices that feel more manageable.

How Barbara’s approaches translate to remote sessions