Dr. Joy McElveen

Dr. Joy McElveen approaches therapy as a continuing life journey, likening personal challenges to the adventures of a storybook hero who faces obstacles, finds allies, and keeps moving forward. She emphasizes that real-life struggles rarely resolve in an hour or two, but each challenge offers an opportunity to take another breath and learn new ways of engaging with life.

With 35 years of clinical experience, Dr. McElveen helps people navigate stress, anxiety, grief, anger, self-esteem concerns, depression, addictions, relationship difficulties, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, and coping with life changes. Her practice centers on expanding a sense of hope within each person seeking change, believing that hope is the force that propels forward movement even amid setbacks.

Her therapeutic approach is grounded in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and informed by practices from mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Therapy. These methods intersect around choices people can make to change how they think, feel, and behave. Dr. McElveen expects that meaningful change requires effort from the person seeking help, with the therapist working alongside as a supportive collaborator.

She is a licensed clinical social worker authorized to practice in both Louisiana and Connecticut, and she holds a bachelor of arts in sociology from Louisiana State University (now UNO), a master of social work from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, and a doctorate from Howard University School of Social Work. Dr. McElveen also holds certifications in each of the treatment approaches she uses and welcomes the chance to be one of the supportive characters in a person’s own life story.