Elizabeth is a homeschooling, homesteading, married, mother of two, and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate. She has a Master of Education and a Master of Art in Marriage and Family Therapy in addition to a Bachelor of Art in Social Studies & Elementary Education. Her love of children and their families led her to pursue a shift in careers to provide support across the lifespan to improve their quality of life. As a therapist and educator, her main goal is to meet clients where they are by integrating different modalities into her practice, including walk-and-talk sessions, teletherapy, group therapy, and has focused on expanding her efforts in advocating for improved mental health access for those who need it most by participating in expanded training focused on helping those dealing with relationship issues, suicidality, and trauma.

Elizabeth shares… as a neurodivergent therapist, I’m passionate about working with adults, adolescents, and children to create adaptive relational skills that allow them to have improved interpersonal relationships in various areas of their lives. My heart is for working with couples, families, and individuals to help create opportunities for improved connection. Using a neuroaffirmative approach, my goal is to help those struggling with various elements of neurodiversity or healing from traumatic events to better understand how it impacts their functioning and gain insight into how to adjust or adapt to various challenges life throws at them. Helping bridge the gap between different communication issues and exploring healthy boundaries that provide the foundation for healthier connections with those around you. As a former teacher, I incorporate elements of art, music, writing, and alternative forms of expression to allow clients to find ways to explore the areas in their lives that they may not have words for yet.

When working with neurodivergent couples, I utilize the Gottman Method to help strengthen their relationship from issues surrounding perpetual problems, affair recovery, etc. With families, I prefer to work through a cognitive behavioral family approach by integrating interventions focused on improving communication, psychoeducation to improve understanding, parent training, building coping skills, collaborative problem-solving techniques, and somatic psychotherapy techniques to improve emotional regulation. With individual clients, I utilize a blend of EMDR, Acceptance Commitment Therapy with Dialectical Behavioral Therapy approaches modified to be more neuroaffirming to meet the client where they need it the most. In the case of children or adolescents, I prefer to incorporate play into our session to allow for developmentally appropriate resolutions and adaption to difficult situations from a strength-based approach.

I specialize in working with clients who are struggling with ADHD, autism, executive functioning difficulties, anxiety, depression, trauma, parenting, and learning disorders.

Education:

Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, June 2024

National University (San Diego, CA)

Master of Education in Urban Teaching

National Louis University (Chicago IL), July 2013

Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education

Spring Arbor University (Spring Arbor, MI), December 2011

License Info:

Alabama Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate #A131

Elizabeth  is working under the clinical supervision of Rachel Sullivan, LMFT, AAMFT Approved Supervisor #150916..

If you feel that Elizabeth may be a good fit for your therapy needs, you can contact her at (256) 203-3939 or elizabethgervais@solidgroundmadison.com