Dr. Elizabeth A. Mellin

Growing up with a parent’s addiction, mental illness, unhealed trauma, or rigid religious beliefs can profoundly shape how you see yourself and connect with others. These early experiences may resurface in adulthood as patterns of approval-seeking, overfunctioning, fear of authority, burnout, people-pleasing, hyper-independence, rescuing, or overgiving - behaviors that can harm relationships. While these behaviors may have helped you survive in the past, they now often leave you feeling exhausted, resentful, ashamed, or inadequate. And if you're an LGBTQ+ soul or a woman, navigating wounds rooted in family or faith can be incredibly challenging. These experiences often involve rejection, shame, or conflicting beliefs that make it hard to trust yourself, feel safe in relationships, or express your true identity without fear. Over time, this can leave you feeling disconnected from yourself and uncertain about your place in the world. As a relational therapist, I understand how these deep-rooted patterns affect your self-worth, relationships, and overall well-being. I’m here to help you explore how past trauma, fear of rejection, and self-abandonment have impacted your life. We’ll work together to challenge those patterns and replace them with healthier ones - focusing on coming home to your True Self, not the False Self you had to become to stay safe when growing up in a challenging home or religious environment. I also help you focus on developing essential relational practices that foster healthier and more fulfilling connections with yourself and others. We’ll work on slowing down, self-consideration, cultivating body wisdom, articulating needs, identifying (and holding) wise boundaries, truthful communication, managing conflict, and relational repair, which will help you create relationships grounded in mutual respect and interdependence. Healing is a relational process, and I provide a compassionate, nonjudgmental space to explore this journey. If this resonates with you, let's talk. You are not alone. I am a fellow traveler with 20+ years of experience working with women and queer souls. I also have advanced post-graduate training in sex and trauma therapy. I am an anti-racist, sex-positive, poly-affirming, pleasure-positive, kink-aware, body-positive, neurodivergent affirmative, and enneagram-informed therapist. You deserve(d) better - then, today, and always.