About
Elena Marsh, LCSW
I am a licensed clinical social worker in Portland, Maine, and I have spent twelve years helping people find their footing in the hard middle of things.
Before private practice I worked in a community mental health clinic and on a hospital palliative care team. Those years taught me two things: people are far more resilient than they believe, and nobody should have to prove they are struggling enough to deserve help.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Maine · EMDR certified · Member, AAMFT
What I believe
A few things that shape how I work.
You are the expert on your own life.
My job is to bring structure, perspective, and tools. Yours is to tell me what fits and what does not.
Slow is often fast.
Change that sticks tends to arrive gradually. We will not rush past the parts that matter.
Evidence and warmth are not opposites.
I draw on approaches with solid research behind them, and I deliver them as a person, not a protocol.
Therapy should have an ending.
The goal is for you to need me less over time. We will talk openly about when that is happening.
Training and credentials
MSW, University of Maine
Master of Social Work, clinical concentration, 2012
EMDR certified
EMDR International Association, 2018
Gottman Method, Level 2
Couples therapy training, 2020