Elisabeth Heien
Clinical Social Work Associate
EMDR Trained
Westside Clinic
elisabeth@connectionsfirst.org
(503) 427-1952
Elisabeth offers an attuned, compassionate, and curious presence. Her approach is deeply relational, somatic-focused, and trauma aware. She believes we all hold an innate capacity for healing and growth, especially when we feel fully seen and understood. She holds a deep respect for the challenging yet beautiful experience of being human and believes it is every person's birthright to feel a sense of belonging.
Our bodies hold immense wisdom and Elisabeth views re-connecting to our bodies as a path to healing. Embodiment allows us to strengthen and broader our capacity to be with all of life's experiences, as well as heal from past experiences which can show up in present-day patterning and stuckness. Elisabeth also seeks to understand experiences in context - personal, political, historical, cultural, familial, and ecological. These contexts shape how we see the world, our nervous systems, and our sense of self, and these contexts should be acknowledged in the therapy process.
Elisabeth is dedicated to fostering therapeutic relationships which are built upon trust, collaboration, and connection. Relationships can be sites of transformation and having a space in which all of you is welcome can create the fertile soil for growth and change. Elisabeth also believes you are the expert of you. She knows that clients hold invaluable wisdom from their lived experiences, and she seeks to affirm and celebrate that knowing.
Elisabeth draws from the following therapies and theories in her work: polyvagal theory, attachment theory, systems theory, acceptance and commitment therapy, narrative therapy, internal family systems therapy, emotionally focused therapy, and Health at Every Size.
In her free time, Elisabeth enjoys spending time with her dogs, making folk crafts, learning her ancestral traditions, and finding relatable memes (especially therapy memes).