Elana Gotfried Psy.D
19 Elliot Ave
Bryn Mawr PA
19010
856-448-4487
[email protected]
Population: Young adults, adults, individual, group (DBT) Adolescents (Non-DBT)
I am a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of trauma, substance abuse, borderline personality disorder, depression and anxiety. I feel deeply honored to accompany people on a journey towards finding meaning in their lives. Understanding and confronting emotions that contribute to problematic thoughts and behaviors is a cornerstone of the work that I do. Everyone deserves to be seen and heard. I work with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and intersecting identities. I strive to bring warmth, commitment, authenticity, and an easy going sense of humor to my work. My approach integrates my years of training, utilizing DBT, CBT, and relational approaches. I also have an interest in somatic based approaches to trauma work.
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.
After leaving Princeton House, I worked as 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. It was during this time that 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, while also triaging and treating those 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 to various women’s groups on mindfulness approaches to maintaining overall mental health and well-being.