Welcome to BetterHelp, and thank you for reading my profile. I hope you will find I am a good fit for you. My name is Elaine Mills, and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of California. I earned my Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from National University in 2012. I have been working in the field for over eight years, licensed for four. My work history is in a variety of settings with individuals, couples, and families, including an eating disorders program, an intensive respite program for at risk adolescents, and on base for military members and their families.
My focus is working with a trauma-informed lens to help individuals understand how trauma impacts our bodies, minds and our relationships with others. We aren't always aware of how things we believed were "normal" impacted our brains. It isn't about dwelling in the past or blaming our parents or our pasts, but about understanding how life events helped to shape the way we see the world. Understanding how we got here can go a long way in helping us learn how to break down the barriers in our paths. My training and experience in a variety of therapeutic modalities allow me to let my clients be my guide in using the theories best able to help them. Everyone is a unique individual and my job is to meet you where you are, work with you to determine where you want to be, and incorporate what will best help you meet your goals. Sometimes it might be focusing on strengths and building from there, other times it might be helping make the connections between thoughts, feelings, and actions, and for some, it might be forming an attachment to help work through serious wounds.
You've taken the first big step in making a change. I would be honored and humbled to help you take those next steps.
Additional areas of focus: Addictions, LGBT, Family conflicts, Grief, Intimacy-related issues, Eating disorders, Parenting issues, Anger management, Self esteem, Career difficulties, Bipolar disorder, Coping with life changes, Abandonment, Attachment issues, Body image, Commitment Issues, Communication problems, Control issues, Divorce and separation, Domestic Violence, Eating and Food-Related Issues, Family of Origin Issues, Forgiveness, Impulsivity, Infidelity, Military and Veterans Issues, Mood disorders , Post-traumatic stress, Self-Harm, Sexual Assault and Abuse, Workplace issues, Young Adult Issues
Clinical approaches: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Attachment-Based Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trauma-Focused Therapy
CA LMFT 99550