Elaine Lipkin

Choosing a therapist depends on many personal factors - who someone is, what they hope to accomplish in therapy, and which therapists are available. Elaine Lipkin emphasizes that a good fit grows from working together, building trust, and being open to what each person brings to the process.

Elaine has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California since 1990 and holds license number 27327. She began working in the mental health field in 1975, with experience in psychiatric hospitals and outpatient clinics, and she completed three years of internship in private practice before becoming licensed. Early in her career she worked at a psychiatric hospital that provided staff education from well-known figures in psychotherapy, an experience she credits with giving her a strong clinical foundation.

Her role as a therapist is to help people identify areas where they feel stuck, to explore why they think, feel, or act as they do, and to understand the influences that shape their lives today. Elaine believes in setting measurable goals that can be reviewed and adjusted; therapy may be brief and solution-oriented or extend over a longer period, depending on the needs.

She draws on a range of therapeutic approaches and tailors methods to each individual client. Clients have described her as compassionate, attentive to their needs, able to listen well, and respectful. She values the connection that permits her to maintain neutrality while offering empathy, and she helps people develop practical tools and incorporate insights gained during the work.

Elaine has worked with individuals, families, and couples. Her specialty has included work with people facing infertility, supported by specialized training and experience with a national support organization. With a clear understanding of how family of origin affects current functioning, she often uses family systems ideas within an eclectic framework. All of these experiences and training inform who she is as a therapist today, and she offers her best wishes to anyone beginning their therapeutic journey with her.