About Eli

I believe that both healing and creative work require the same thing: the courage to tell the truth, even when it's hard.

I'm a counseling psychology graduate student completing my MA at the California Institute of Integral Studies, a practicum student therapist, and a published poet. I work at the intersection of therapy, writing, and career transformation—helping people heal from trauma, find their authentic voice on the page, and build work lives that actually fit who they are.

How I got here

I grew up on a remote homestead in Alaska, where I learned about resilience, self-reliance, and what it means to make meaning out of difficult experiences. That foundation shaped everything that came after: my commitment to trauma-informed practice, my belief in the power of storytelling, and my understanding that healing isn't linear.

Before pursuing clinical training, I spent nearly a decade in People Operations and leadership development, helping scale startups and supporting professionals through career transitions. I know firsthand what it's like to build a career that looks good on paper but doesn't fit your soul—and what it takes to make a change.

What drives my work

I'm committed to liberation-oriented, trauma-informed practice that sees you as the expert on your own life.

In therapy, I bring training in parts work, somatics, Gestalt, and transpersonal psychology, along with certification in complex trauma treatment (CCTP-II) and specialization in neurodiversity, complex trauma, and identity exploration.

In coaching, I draw on my background in People Operations, my own experience navigating career transitions, and my deep belief that your work should align with your authentic self—not drain you. Whether you're exploring a career change, advocating for yourself in your current role, or working through difficult material as a writer, I bring both practical strategy and the inner work that makes change sustainable.

As a published poet and Writing & Scholarship Fellow at CIIS, I also support writers working with difficult material. I work with everything from memoirs, trauma narratives, and stories that demand both craft and care. I understand what it takes to write responsibly about hard things, and I help writers find the courage and structure to tell the stories they're carrying. My approach integrates creative writing expertise with trauma-informed practices, so you can write from embodied presence rather than unhealed wounds.