Inspiring Conversations with Leiah Drew-Hightower of The Therapeutic Studio, LLC.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leiah Drew-Hightower.

Hi Leiah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a young teen Leiah developed a deep connection with individuals with special needs when she cared for a neighborhood child with autism. This ignited an interest to study mental health and prompted her to choose psychology as her major in college. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee in 2006.

After graduation, Leiah served as the Assistant Director at The King’s Daughters’ Center for Autism (KDS CFA) for six years, working directly with children and young adults with severe autism and intellectual disabilities. Seeing the importance of increasing her knowledge of mental health and social-emotional regulation, she enrolled in Trevecca University’s counseling psychology program and graduated with honors with her master’s degree.
Leiah completed her counseling internship in Franklin, TN at Mercy Children’s Clinic, now known as Mercy Community Healthcare (MCH) as a mental health counselor with elementary school children at New Hope Academy. As soon as her internship was complete because of her unique combination of expertise in autism, administrative experience, and her ability to connect with her clients, MCH hired her to work as the mental health counselor for the newly formed Williamson County School Tier 3 program for children with severe behavioral issues and co-occurring mental health disorders. During this time, Leiah completed requirements for her counseling license with the state of Tennessee and obtained her LPC-MHSP, and also completed the masters level Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program at Lipscomb University. She was promoted to the position of Coordinator of the Williamson County School-Based (WCS) program for MCH and later advanced to the position of Director of MCH’s School-based therapeutic program.

In December of 2022, Leiah opened her own private practice–The Therapeutic Studio (TTS). TTS has quickly expanded into a group practice, attracting therapists that also specialize in neurodiversity and integrative care. Leiah is passionate about supporting all individuals and helping them find their truest self. Leiah believes in the power of Christ, community and connection. She engages in group and individual therapy through several evidenced-based practices, including but not limited to: Narrative Therapy, Play Therapy, Expressive Sand Tray, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, BrainSpotting, Internal Family Systems, Applied Behavior Analysis, and educational advocacy. She also provides training for therapists and parents on topics such as autism, trauma, anxiety, depression, school-based interventions, and educational advocacy.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My story is long, challenging and full of trauma. Born in Memphis and growing up in Arkansas, I faced many adversities. My father was a functioning alcoholic growing up that was highly successful. Yet, he was verbally abusive to me. I was often called “Fat and Stupid”. My parents divorced on my 8th birthday and the day Bill Clinton was elected president. From the outside looking in, we appeared wealthy and “normal”. Yet, behind closed doors, my mom struggled to pay our mortgage. We received food stamps and most meals consisted of Ramen Noodles. We watched friends complete suicide, struggle with addiction and mental illness. Life was hard.

My mom had an incredible way of building resilience in my sister and I. She started me in therapy when I was 6 year old. My insightful mother also surrounded me with inspiring women, who modeled strength and determination, one of them was my school counselor at school. My therapist and my school counselor gave me skills to build protective factors. I also had really great friendships, my best friends today are were created in elementary school, 35 years later we are soul-sisters!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about The Therapeutic Studio, LLC. ?
Here at TTS, we are a one stop shop. We know how hard it is to get ourselves and our children to all their appointments. Thus, our goal is to provide wrap-around services for our families. We provide ABA, clinical therapy, educational advocacy and resource assistance. We also provide individual, group and family therapy. We offer autism testing as well, and we currently do not have a waiting list. We are offering our first mini-social emotional camps this summer. Please see the attached flier for more information and here a link to our website:
TTS Summer Mini-Camp — The Therapeutic Studio, LLC

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love Nashville! We are truly music city. We have two locations one in Thompsons Station and one in Franklin. The challenge with our area is that most of our community mental health centers that offer sliding scales or take insurance, often have a long waiting list. Here at TTS, we do not have a waiting list and we do offer sliding scales. We are eager to serve our community and we do not want money to be a barrier.

Pricing:

• $130-$200

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Thetherapeuticstudiollc.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ttsllctn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheTStudio615
• Twitter: @TheStudioLLCTN