With a deep respect for the difficulties of parenting in our contemporary climate, Eliana loves working with parents to understand the meaning behind their child’s behavior and how they can meet their child’s emotional needs. Eliana also loves using the power of play to communicate with children in their language as they work through inner conflicts and overwhelming emotions. She incorporates values of cultural humility, radical acceptance, and anti-adultism in her work.
Eliana was inspired to become a psychotherapist while witnessing firsthand how play can transform a child’s development and help them express themselves.
Eliana has experience working with children and parents in various contexts, including community centers across Chicago, therapeutic preschools, juvenile justice facilities, and child welfare agencies.
As a child, Eliana believed she would be a stage actress. Now, she brings imagination, character analysis, and appreciation for emotional expression into the playroom. She likes watching plays and movies and discussing them with friends. Eliana also enjoys traveling, playing with her cat, attending art museums, listening to podcasts, and spending time on the lakefront.
She loves working alongside occupational therapists to deepen her appreciation for the complex interconnectivity of bodily sensations and physiological and emotional responses. Eliana loves AZ+A’s unique qualities, allowing everyone to make it their own. It’s a space for those who like cozy nooks, room to run around, opportunities to try new things, as well as a familiar home-like environment. She sees the playhouse as a special place to find joy, calm, relief, and compassionate understanding.
Education:
Tufts University in Medford, MA, studied theatre and child development
The University of Chicago for a master’s in social work focused on clinical work with children, trauma, and violence prevention
Certifications/Experience:
– As a clinical social worker, Eliana incorporates values of cultural humility, radical acceptance, and anti-adultism in her work
– Rostered Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) provider, an evidence-based model focused on helping the parent and child together process traumatic stress through play – Extensive training in psychoanalytic approaches to treatment and completed a fellowship through the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis
– Certificate in the DIR-FCD model through Profectum
– Trained in the Attachment, Regulation, Competency (ARC) model