Leslie Sokol, Ph.D., a licensed Psychologist, is Senior Faculty, past Director of Education and was one of the principal instructors with the internationally acclaimed Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Philadelphia. She has taught cognitive therapy to professional and para-professional groups, nationally and internationally, on such topics as: depression, anxiety, personality disorders, my antidepressant info, psychosis, substance abuse, and couples’ problems.

In addition to her roles at the Beck Institute, she maintains a private practice in the Detweiler Family Medicine office. In her role as Chairman of Behavioral Science in the Family Practice Department at Mercy Suburban Hospital, she taught psychiatry to family medicine residents for twenty-two years. She continues to serve as the staff psychologist in the cardiac and physical rehabilitation departments.

Dr. Sokol, is a distinguished founding fellow of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy and a past president. Currently she serves as Chairman of its Credentialing Committee. In these roles, she was intricately involved in the provision and development of training protocols to insure competency in Cognitive Therapy, and in the testing and utilization of tools to evaluate this competency.

To further her mission of spreading accurate knowledge of cognitive therapy worldwide, she was Representative at Large for the IACP (International Association of Cognitive Psychotherapy). Dr. Sokol is on the Meet the Experts panel for Psychology Today and an invited member of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Psychology Today, PESI Healthcare, and Penguin Speakers Bureaus.

Dr. Sokol is the coauthored of two books: Think Confident, Be Confident: A Four-Step Program to Eliminate Doubt and Achieve Lifelong Self-Esteem and Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens: A Cognitive Therapy Guide to Overcoming Self-Doubt and Creating Unshakable Self-Esteem.

Dr. Sokol has published in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Sokol has been interviewed for articles in multiple national magazines, such as Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health and Shape Magazine. She also has been interviewed for television WCAU NBC10 “10Show” and Better TV, a nationally syndicated show. She is often interviewed by many national and international radio stations including such shows as WLAC_AM “He said she said”, “Martha Stuart Radio ”Sirius Satellite, “I Hear America Talking” WRDC-FM and WLBS-FM, “Montel Williams Show” Air America Radio Network, and “Chefs Table” WHYY.

Information about Dr. Sokol’s Practice

Dr. Sokol is a licensed psychologist and a cognitive behavior therapy specialist who provides treatment for adolescents and adults with a wide range of psychological and life issues. Individual and couple counseling is available. Regardless of the difficulties presented, Dr. Sokol will collaboratively work with you to set and achieve clear cut goals to feel better.

Cognitive therapy is a problem-focused, short-term, goal-directed therapy that is based on the model that how you think influences how you behave and how you feel. Psychological and life issues involve problems in thinking that lead you to see the world in a biased fashion. For example, when you’re down you most likely see your world as more negative than it really is and when you’re anxious you probably see yourself as more vulnerable or the world as more dangerous than it actually is. Dr. Sokol will teach you how to see yourself and the world in a more accurate and realistic way and provide you with many cognitive and behavioral tools so that you can respond, cope, and navigate life more effectively.