Elizabeth Tsahiridis
I’m a small-town woman who has navigated life’s joys, transitions, and challenges, including divorce, raising and caring for a child with special needs, loss, love, and the unexpected turns that are part of being human. These experiences have shaped not only who I am, but also the compassion, perspective, and understanding I bring to my work as a therapist and life and wellness coach. I have a passion for connecting with real people facing real challenges. I work with individuals who are looking for more than simply a place to talk; they want to better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns that may be keeping them from living the life they want. I believe meaningful change begins when we feel safe enough to be honest about where we are and hopeful enough to believe that something different is possible. My approach is warm, thoughtful, collaborative, and straightforward. I believe in meeting people where they are, without judgment, while also helping them look honestly at what may be preventing them from moving forward. Together, we can explore patterns, beliefs, relationships, and life experiences, while developing practical tools that support healthier choices, stronger boundaries, greater confidence, and lasting personal growth. I understand that reaching out for support can feel vulnerable, and I consider it a privilege when someone chooses to share their story with me. My goal is to create a welcoming space where you feel heard, respected, understood, and supported as we work toward greater clarity and a more intentional and fulfilling life. I would welcome the opportunity to connect with you, learn about your story, and explore how I can support you in moving forward. When I’m not working with clients, you’ll often find me traveling with my children, playing pickleball or mah-jongg, or listening to a good podcast.
Strengths
One of the greatest strengths I bring to my work is the ability to create a space where clients feel comfortable being honest about what is really happening in their lives. I approach each person with warmth, compassion, curiosity, and respect, while also offering thoughtful, straightforward guidance that can help create meaningful and lasting change. I believe therapy is most effective when clients feel both supported and appropriately challenged. I listen carefully, ask thoughtful questions, and look for patterns that may be difficult to recognize when you are living within the situation. Together, we explore how thoughts, experiences, relationships, beliefs, and behaviors may be influencing your life today and identify opportunities for positive change. My approach is practical, collaborative, and individualized. Rather than focusing only on what is wrong, we work together to understand what is within your control, recognize and build upon your existing strengths, develop healthier coping strategies, establish appropriate boundaries, improve communication, and create realistic steps toward the changes you want to make. I want the work we do in session to feel relevant and useful in your everyday life. I also bring perspective that comes from both professional training and lived experience. I understand that life can be complicated, relationships can be difficult, and meaningful change rarely happens in a perfectly straight line. There may be progress, setbacks, uncertainty, and moments of important discovery along the way. Above all, my goal is to provide a welcoming, compassionate, and nonjudgmental environment where you can speak openly and feel truly heard. I want you to leave our work together with greater self-awareness, practical tools, stronger confidence, and a clearer understanding of yourself. My role is to walk alongside you, offer perspective, encourage growth, and help you move forward with greater clarity, confidence, and intention in your own life.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an important part of my therapeutic approach because it helps clients understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. I use CBT to help clients recognize patterns of thinking that may be contributing to anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, low self-confidence, or feeling stuck. In our sessions, we work together to identify thoughts and beliefs that may no longer be helpful, explore where those patterns may have developed, and consider healthier and more realistic ways of responding to life’s challenges. Rather than simply talking about what is happening, CBT allows us to develop practical strategies that clients can begin using in their everyday lives. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an important part of my therapeutic approach because it helps clients understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. I use CBT to help clients recognize patterns of thinking that may be contributing to anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, low self-confidence, or feeling stuck. In our sessions, we work together to identify thoughts and beliefs that may no longer be helpful, explore where those patterns may have developed, and consider healthier and more realistic ways of responding to life’s challenges. Rather than simply talking about what is happening, CBT allows us to develop practical strategies that clients can begin using in their everyday lives. I tailor CBT to each individual rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. Depending on a client’s needs, this may include learning to challenge unhelpful thoughts, developing healthier coping skills, improving emotional regulation, strengthening communication, establishing boundaries, or gradually changing behaviors that are interfering with personal growth and well-being. My goal is for clients to leave therapy with more than insight. I want them to develop practical tools, greater self-awareness, and the confidence to respond to difficult situations in healthier and more intentional ways—both during therapy and long after our work together has ended. While CBT is a foundation of my practice, I recognize that every client is different and that no single therapeutic approach is appropriate for everyone. I am comfortable incorporating other evidence-based therapeutic methods and techniques when they may better support a client’s individual needs, circumstances, and goals. My approach is flexible, collaborative, and always centered on what will be most helpful for the person sitting across from me.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an approach I use to help clients better understand and manage intense emotions, improve relationships, develop healthier coping skills, and respond to difficult situations in more effective ways. DBT is especially helpful when emotions feel overwhelming or when familiar ways of coping are no longer working. In my practice, I use DBT skills in a practical and individualized way. One important area is emotional regulation—helping clients recognize emotions, understand what may be triggering them, and learn strategies for responding rather than reacting. The goal is not to eliminate difficult emotions, but to develop greater confidence in managing them when they arise. I also incorporate mindfulness, which helps clients become more aware of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors without immediately judging or acting on them. This increased awareness can create space between what we feel and how we choose to respond. Distress tolerance is another important part of DBT. Life inevitably brings situations we cannot immediately change. I help clients develop healthier ways to tolerate difficult moments without turning to behaviors that may provide temporary relief but create additional problems later. DBT can also strengthen relationships through interpersonal effectiveness. Together, we may work on communication, boundaries, expressing needs, managing conflict, and maintaining relationships without losing sight of your own values and well-being. What I appreciate most about DBT is its balance between acceptance and change. We can acknowledge and respect where you are today while also recognizing that there may be behaviors, patterns, or responses you would like to change. I do not believe therapy should look exactly the same for every person. I incorporate DBT techniques when they fit a client’s individual needs and goals, often alongside CBT and other therapeutic approaches. My goal is to provide practical skills you can carry beyond our sessions and use confidently in your everyday life.
Compassion Focused
Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) is an approach I use to help clients develop a healthier, kinder, and more balanced relationship with themselves. Many people come to therapy carrying years of self-criticism, shame, guilt, perfectionism, or the belief that they are somehow not doing enough. CFT helps us understand where these patterns may have developed and begin responding to ourselves with greater compassion rather than judgment. In my practice, compassion does not mean ignoring problems, avoiding responsibility, or simply telling yourself that everything is okay. Instead, it means learning to recognize difficulties honestly while responding to them with the same patience, understanding, and encouragement we might naturally offer someone we care about. Together, we may explore the ways past experiences, relationships, expectations, and personal beliefs have shaped the way you speak to yourself and view your own worth. We can identify patterns of self-criticism and begin developing a more supportive inner voice without losing accountability or the desire for growth. I also use CFT to help clients understand difficult emotions such as anxiety, shame, anger, sadness, and fear. Rather than judging these emotions, we work toward understanding what they may be communicating and developing healthier ways to respond to them. One of the things I value most about Compassion-Focused Therapy is that it recognizes that meaningful change does not have to come from criticism. We can hold ourselves accountable, make difficult decisions, establish boundaries, and pursue personal growth while still treating ourselves with kindness and respect. I incorporate CFT based on each client’s individual needs, often alongside CBT, DBT, and other therapeutic approaches. My goal is to help clients develop greater self-understanding, reduce unnecessary self-judgment, and build a more compassionate relationship with themselves—one that supports resilience, confidence, emotional well-being, and meaningful, lasting change.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an approach I use to help clients develop greater psychological flexibility—the ability to experience difficult thoughts and emotions without allowing them to completely determine their choices or direction in life. ACT can be especially helpful when someone feels stuck, overwhelmed, anxious, or caught in patterns of avoiding uncomfortable emotions or situations. In my practice, acceptance does not mean giving up, approving of painful circumstances, or believing that something difficult should not change. Instead, it means recognizing what is happening in the present moment and learning to distinguish between what we can control and what we cannot. This allows us to direct our energy toward the areas where meaningful change is possible. Together, we may explore thoughts, emotions, fears, and experiences that have become barriers to moving forward. Rather than trying to eliminate every uncomfortable thought or feeling, ACT teaches us how to change our relationship with them so they have less power over our decisions and behavior. An important part of ACT is identifying personal values. We explore what truly matters to you—your relationships, family, personal growth, health, career, purpose, or other meaningful areas of life. Those values can then become a guide for making decisions and taking intentional action, even when doing so feels uncomfortable. I appreciate ACT because it acknowledges an important reality: a meaningful life does not require a life without difficulty. We can experience uncertainty, disappointment, fear, or sadness while continuing to move toward what matters most to us.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an approach I use to help clients better understand the different parts of themselves and how those parts may influence their thoughts, emotions, relationships, and behaviors. At times, we may feel as though one part of us wants to move forward while another feels afraid, angry, protective, uncertain, or resistant. IFS provides a compassionate way to understand these internal conflicts rather than judging them. In my practice, I help clients become curious about the different parts of themselves and the roles those parts may have developed over time. Some parts may work hard to protect us from rejection, disappointment, vulnerability, or pain. Others may carry difficult emotions or experiences from the past. Even behaviors that seem frustrating or unhelpful may have developed as ways of coping or protecting ourselves. Together, we explore these patterns with curiosity and compassion. Rather than trying to eliminate or silence a part of yourself, we work to understand what it may be protecting, what it needs, and whether the strategies it once developed are still helpful in your life today. An important aspect of IFS is helping clients connect with their core Self—the calm, compassionate, curious, and confident part of themselves that can approach difficult emotions and experiences with greater clarity. From this perspective, clients can begin developing healthier relationships with the different parts of themselves. I appreciate IFS because it encourages understanding rather than self-criticism. It allows us to recognize that even the parts of ourselves we struggle with often have a story and a purpose. I incorporate IFS concepts based on each client’s individual needs, often alongside CBT, DBT, ACT, Compassion-Focused Therapy, and other therapeutic approaches. My goal is to help clients better understand themselves, develop greater self-compassion, resolve internal conflicts, and move forward feeling more connected, balanced, and confident in who they are.
Location
Virtual sessions