My Story
Hi, I'm Elizabeth!
I'm a cisgender, female living on Shawanwaki and Muskogee territory, currently known as the State of Alabama.
I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist assisting clients in Alabama. I graduated from The University of Alabama with an bachelor degree in Human Development and Family Studies and completed my education at Valdosta State University with a master degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. I have a clinical fellow membership with the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and with the Alabama MFT Network.
In my free time, I love trying new food, exploring new places, and learning random, interesting facts.
Culturally Aware
I'm an American from Arab decent, as the product of the the Lebanese and Palestinian diaspora, which resulted after European colonization and Israeli settlements.
My education brought to my awareness the importance of addressing how culture, race, gender, size, religion, etc. can influence problems. I believe it’s important to address how my own personal privilege and culture have played a role in my life and the way I interact with the world.
It’s especially important for me to continue this personal work in order to best help the clients I serve in therapy. I attempt to provide a safe space to explore identities and related challenges.
Narrative Therapy
I have an eclectic therapy style that is collaborative, client focused, and led by my own personal curiosity.
I believe my clients are the experts of their lives and I trust their identification of problems rather than me identifying the problems myself.
The way I attempt to resolve my clients’ identified problems is drawn mostly from post-modern and systemic psychotherapy approaches including Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, and Collaborative Language Systems. Narrative Therapists believe people understand their lives through stories and these stories give meaning to their experiences.
Why "Your Story" Therapy?
Stories are important!
Humans have known this since the beginning of their existence. 100,000 years ago, cavemen were drawing stories on cave walls. 5,000 years ago, Egyptians created Hieroglyphs. And now, with the rise of the internet, everyone can tell their story.
Throughout history, stories have been shared to teach, warn, remember, and entertain. It can be the tool for passing on beliefs, history, love, and cultural traditions.
The stories we tell ourselves have the same function. They can teach us how to handle difficult situations, warn us about people who've hurt us, remind us of our character, and more. These stories can be helpful and can be the vehicle for creating change.
Sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a "story" filled with problems we can't resolve on our own...
I would be honored to walk through your story with you, and "co-author" the story you prefer.