01 · Who Elaine works with

Elaine works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and grief

Elaine lists 10 specialisms and 11 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Elaine chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Elaine's own words

What Elaine says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

Choosing a therapist hinges on so many factors! Who you are, what you are looking for in therapy. Then there are the therapists available to you, You look at their education, training, experience, therapeutic approaches, etc. Deciding to seek therapy takes courage and you want a good fit. That fit comes from working together, developing trust and a willingness to be open to hearing what each other says.

I have been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 1990. I have worked in the mental health field since 1975, in psychiatric hospitals, outpatient clinics, and then interning in private practice for three years prior to becoming licensed. I was extremely lucky to have worked at a psychiatric hospital early on that provided staff education with some of the most famous people in the field of psychotherapy, so I feel my foundation is outstanding.

Life can be hard, overwhelming, frustrating, and exciting. My role as a therapist is to help you help yourself, to identify areas in your life where you might be stuck, understand why you do or feel or act as you do, understand the influences that affect you today. I believe in setting goals in therapy that can be evaluated along the way and changed when needed. Therapy can be short term, very solution oriented. Or can take longer.

I draw from the various therapeutic approaches that I have studied and put into practice over the years. And apply what I know to each client individually. Clients have described me as compassionate, that I seek to understand what they need, that I am able to hear them, and that I am respectful. I love the connection between myself and my clients that allows me to stay neutral yet utilizes my ability to be empathetic. I will help you to develop the tools needed to make the changes you identify and to incorporate insights that happen along the way.

I have worked with individuals, families, and couples. My speciality has been working with people going through Infertility and I have had specialized training in this unique area as well as being a therapist with a national support organization. All of this experience and training define who I am as a therapist/counselor today.

I have a good understanding of how our family of origin affects how we function today and utilize a family systems and a more eclectic approach. But more than what approaches I draw from, that connection I mentioned above is what helps my clients achieve their goals.

I wish you all the best in your journey and if I am the therapist you contact, I look forward to our work together.

Elaine Lipkin, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Elaine works

The 3 approaches Elaine lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Elaine lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Elaine's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Elaine runs a session.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Mindfulness-Based TherapyMBCT

Trains attention on what is happening right now - body, breath, the thought as it arrives - so distress can be observed rather than automatically acted on. Strongest evidence is in preventing depression from recurring, and it is usually taught as a practice you keep doing outside the session.

Solution-Focused Brief TherapySFBT

Starts from where you want to end up rather than from how you got here. Sessions look for the times the problem is already smaller and work out what is different about those, so the number of sessions tends to be short and the work concrete.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Elaine practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Elaine's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Elaine at this point.

2. Naming Elaine specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Elaine is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Elaine.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

2 questions worth asking Elaine

Built from what Elaine actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Elaine's - Elaine has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “With 35 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMFT

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LMFT 27327

Licence number

27327

Licence expires

29 Feb 2028

NPI

1366542938

Years in practice

35

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Elaine's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Elaine. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.