About EliseAbout Elise

I grew up in the western suburbs of Philadelphia and have spent most of my life in this area. I have worked in many settings from grassroots to international organizations. I was a non-profit executive for many years, but am most at home and fulfilled working at a deeper and more personal level with individuals, families, and couples.  Working in hospice especially helped to ground me in the raw and frank intensity of grief work and reinforced the importance of appreciating life. My past experience professionally, personally and as a life-long learner has culminated in a strong sense of purpose that I seek to share with my clients. I have a message. Let’s spread this…

  • We are meant to be happy.
  • We can appreciate our lives fully.
  • Well-being is a result of a healthy mind that we can create and maintain.
  • Being happy and appreciative makes us more compassionate and more attuned to others. (There is science behind this statement as well!) This magnifies the benefit of working on ourselves exponentially.

How can you fully appreciate your life? Too often, we make great and completely unnecessary sacrifices in the service of over-working, rigid beliefs, avoiding the judgement of others, or other mental straight jackets. We subjugate meaning, joy, connection, and our own inner voice. The result is depressed mood, fearfulness, anger, and anxiety. These are the signals that our needs are not being met and our ability to be happy and appreciate life (a healthy mind state) is severely compromised.

My training includes a focus on mindfulness and the amazing work in interpersonal neurobiology of Dr. Daniel Siegel and The Mindsight Institute. Interpersonal Neurobiology is an interdisciplinary field that emphasizes the interaction between the brain, mind, and relationships to others in shaping us. It is founded on clinical evidence of continuous brain growth and change (neuroplasticity). This method explores the effect that therapy has on the brain and how the brain mechanism is directly impacted by life experiences.

My training and practice is strongly focused on healing trauma and treating both PTSD and Complex PTSD. I am a seasoned practitioner in treating all types of trauma.

Good therapy is possible when you have a good connection with your therapist. However, credentials, training, and experience are important too and I have listed them below. Please scroll down to see my credentials, training, work experience and affiliations.

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Credentials

  • University of  Pennsylvania, MS Counseling Psychology
  • West Chester University, Certificate in Counseling Psychology for Licensure
  • Brown University, BA International Relations
  • Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC) National Board of Certified Counselors
  • Licensed Professional Counselor, State of Pennsylvania (LPC) PC005161
  • Certificate in Thanatology, The study of death, dying, and bereavement (CT), Association of Death Education & Counseling
  • EMDR Certificate (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing therapy), the Maiberger Institute (EMDRIA approved program)
  • Certified in Pain Reprocessing Therapy for Chronic Pain. (see www.painreprocessingtherapy.com)

Additional Training

  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Mind-Body Medicine, Professional Training with Jon Kabat-Zinn
  • Advanced Interpersonal Neurobiology with Dr. Daniel Siegel.
  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Mental Health Professionals, Practicum, Jefferson Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine
  • Mindful Inquiry, Jefferson Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine
  • Emotional Brain Training Therapy (EBT) with Laurel Mellin
  • Mindfulness-Based Family Play Therapy with Dottie Higgins-Kline
  • Exposure Therapy and Response Prevention, CBT for ADHD, Brain Change Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing.
  • Level 1 Training, Clinical Hypnosis, The American Society for Clinical Hypnosis

Work Experience

  • Private Practice Psychotherapist since 2002
  • Director, Camp Erin Philadelphia, A Camp for Grieving Children and Teens, 2009, 2010, 2011
  • Coordinator, Penn Wissahickon Hospice Children’s Bereavement Program (the David Bradley Children’s Bereavement Program), 2009-2012
  • Executive Director, Peter’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children and Families, 2005-2008
  • Intake Coordinator and Staff Therapist, The Women’s Therapy Center, 2002-2005
  • Program Director, Soroptimist International of the Americas, 1993-2002
  • Director, Academic Advising and Counseling Programs, Peirce College, 1988-1993

Memberships/Affiliations

  • ADEC, Association of Death Education & Counseling
  • ASCH, American Society for Clinical Hypnosis
  • ISSTD, International Society for the Study of Trauma && Dissociation
  • NBCC, National Board of Certified Counselors
  • EMDRIA, Eye-Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing International Association