Elana Gotfried, Psy.D.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING and EDUCATION:
I earned my doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at the VA New Jersey Health Care System where I worked with returning veterans struggling with substance use disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I continued this work during my post-doctoral training at JFK Behavioral Health’s methadone treatment program in North Philadelphia. After obtaining my license, I worked for two and a half years at Princeton House Behavioral Health’s Women’s Program in Moorestown New Jersey in both Intensive Outpatient (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization (PHP) levels of care. There, I became intensively trained by Behavioral Tech LLC in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and joined a formal DBT team. It was deeply rewarding to learn and utilize a treatment approach that truly helped people find stability from problematic thoughts and behaviors that they had been struggling with for a lifetime. I also received training in mindfulness-based approaches to trauma and mood disorders, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Compassion Focused Therapy. In 2014, I helped open the Men’s Trauma Program at Princeton House Moorestown, a DBT-informed program for men struggling with co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders and became a clinical supervisor to trainees and staff.

I completed my pre-doctoral internship at Princeton House Behavioral Health, a part of the Princeton University Medical Center. During this time I completed rotations in addiction and trauma and worked with men and women attending inpatient, partial hospital, intensive outpatient and outpatient programs. In the Women’s Trauma Program, I was able to work on a team that provided DBT to women attending the Intensive Outpatient and Partial Hospital Programs.

After leaving Princeton House, I worked as a clinical psychologist and eventually as clinical director of an IOP for college students struggling with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders. There, I continued to run year-long DBT skills groups and provide individual therapy for those struggling with underlying mental health concerns. During this time, I started a small private practice in addition to my full-time work, which I found deeply rewarding. After a year and a half at the IOP program, I became the Coordinator of the Campus Alcohol and Substance Awareness Unit at Temple University’s Tuttleman Counseling Services, providing treatment for the general collegiate population and triaging and treating students with specific substance use disorders. I worked with partnering university offices to support students in recovery on campus who may face unique challenges presented by campus life. There, I was also a consultant to their DBT team. Finally, in early 2019, I left Temple University to build a full-time private practice, and joined the Center for Acceptance and Change.

In addition to clinical work, I have a passion for teaching and supervising. Over the years, I have provided clinical supervision to doctoral-level trainees in addition to staff. With a special interest in women’s mental health, I have also lectured and presented mindfulness approaches to maintaining overall mental health and well-being to various women’s groups.