I especially enjoy working with...

Couples & Relationships • Families • LGBTQ+ Folks • Those Navigating Stories of Immigration • Young and Emerging Adults • Caregivers & Parents 

What therapy with me is like

I approach therapy as a relationship that is co-created. This means, I am curious about your experience of therapy and how we can work together to support and explore your chosen ways of living and being. I am also attentive to understanding the factors, systems, and relationships that move and shape your life. While I practice from several specific frameworks, what is most important to me is to offer a space that considers and attunes to each person’s unique needs and goals. 

I view mental health symptoms or “problems” as signals that there is something important occurring. Sometimes these signals can feel overwhelming, painful, and burdensome. My goal is to help create a space where we can understand what those signals are and what stories they are communicating to you.

Things we might explore together

Culture and identity • Relationship and Communication patterns • Family and Societal Expectations • Identity and Belonging • Navigating Change and Life Transitions • Grief and Loss • The Impact of Trauma on Lives and Relationships • Finding Connection and Community • Anxiety & Stress • Depression 

My approach to Narrative Therapy

I'm drawn to Narrative Therapy because it centers people as the authors of their own stories. Rather than assuming that a therapist is the expert on someone else's life, I'm interested in approaching our conversations with curiosity about what you know, what matters to you, and the experiences that have impacted who you are. Together, we can explore the stories that have become influential in your life or relationships while also holding space for perspectives and possibilities that reflect your values and preferred ways of living. I am often inspired by nature and art and I may offer opportunities for incorporating this into our work together, if desired. 

A little about me

I've lived in several places throughout my life and have found each experience revealing, generative, and challenging. The stories and relationships I've encountered along the way have become an important part of my own journey and narrative as a therapist. I earned my B.A. in Anthropology from Hendrix College in Arkansas, focusing on migration and borders. Before completing a Master of Social Work at Boston College, I worked at a humanitarian aid organization in Arizona providing services to forcibly displaced communities, including refugees and asylum seekers, with a particular focus on supporting those affected by violence and trauma. Through these experiences, I realized that what I enjoy the most is in hearing people’s stories and the meaning they are ascribing and searching for in them, and how that ends up transmitted through and between relationships. Before joining MVT, I provided community-based psychotherapy to adults experiencing a serious mental illness at Riverside Community Care. I also provided out-patient therapy to young and emerging adults, with a focus on serving those who identify as LGBTQ+. These experiences continue to inform my commitment to trauma-informed and anti-oppressive therapeutic work now. 

Working with Elissa

Clients: Individuals, Couples, Families

Format: Virtual Therapy
Location: Massachusetts
Approach: Narrative Therapy, Trauma-Informed, Relational, Anti-Oppressive
Availability: Accepting New Clients

Interested in working with Elissa?

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