Clinical Therapist + Supervisor
Elisabeth Heffner, LCSW
she/her
Systems (including familial, transgenerational, historically oppressive, intersectional identity frameworks); Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT); Cognitive Behavioral Therapies (CBT), including process-based; Strengths-based; Narrative Therapy; Evidence-based trauma therapies; Mindfulness-based therapies; Feminist.
Limited Availability
(Weekdays, one evening/week but no upcoming availability for evenings)
Telehealth
UPMC commercial, Highmark BC/BS commercial, Cigna, Aetna, CCBH (Medical Assistance - Allegheny County ONLY)
$115-150
My Specialties
Reproductive mental health issues (infertility; abortion; challenges across pregnancy; postpartum anxiety, OCD, depression, or other challenges; early parenting support)
Reproductive grief and loss
Reproductive Trauma (challenging birth, medical trauma, sexual trauma, intimate partner violence)
LGBTQIA2SP+ support
Trauma
Adjustment, stress, transitions
Grief and loss
Anxiety and mood symptoms
A little more about me
Some fun facts Gardening, creeks and time with family and community. Get to know me A little less
I love growing flowers and tomatoes, spending time near water and exploring waterfalls and creeks. I also enjoy cooking, visiting farmers markets, city parks and libraries, picking fruit and being creative. Sometimes a good day is simply time on the couch watching shows with my family.
What working with me is like A collaborative relationship grounded in curiosity and care. Explore my approach A little less
I bring a holistic, trauma-informed and relational approach to therapy. Together, we can explore experiences that have felt overwhelming, judgmental or frightening, with attention to the strengths you already have. I see you as the expert on your own life. Our work can support boundaries, self-trust and choices that fit your values.
What matters to me Identity, connection and room for your whole experience. Read my story A little less
My work as a neonatal intensive care unit social worker and my own reproductive journey helped shape my commitment to this care. I am a white, cisgender, queer, plus-size mother, spouse and social worker. These parts of my identity influence my perspective, alongside an ongoing commitment to learning about anti-oppression, body acceptance and self-love. I want us to understand your experience within your relationships, culture and wider world.
Open a card to read more, at your own pace.
"Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final"
-- Rainer Maria RilkeThe person behind the practice
Elisabeth, in her own words.
A few reflections on what brings me to this work and how I show up in therapy.
What brought me to this work
“the deep vulnerability of adjustment to new life transitions.”
Elisabeth Heffner, LCSW (she/her)
Read my reflection Close reflection
What shaped the way you care?
Working as a neonatal intensive care unit social worker and navigating my own reproductive journey is a large part of what led me to therapy work. I recognized and experienced the deep vulnerability of adjustment to new life transitions. We will collaborate to make sense and process your lived experiences both past and present whatever they may be. I believe clients deserve non judgmental unconditional positive regard to help move through life challenges and explore identity with more self-attunement and acceptance.
Boundaries, values and a more authentic life
“rebuild trust in themselves and in their communities.”
Elisabeth Heffner, LCSW (she/her)
Read my reflection Close reflection
Who might feel especially understood by the way you approach therapy?
I love working with clients navigating life transitions. Clients who are healing from perfectionism and people-pleasing tendencies to better connect to themselves and feel empowered in their own voice by learning to hold boundaries and align to their values. I love working with perinatal clients navigating the unknowns of family planning, navigating birth and postpartum, and learning to re-parent themselves through their parenting role. I love working with clients who are looking for ways to show up authentically within their communities. I use a trauma-informed lens to support clients in order to rebuild trust in themselves and in their communities.
You are the expert on your experiences
“I believe that you are the expert of your own experiences.”
Elisabeth Heffner, LCSW (she/her)
Read my reflection Close reflection
What do you do when someone does not know where to begin or what to say?
I love using curiosity as a tool to explore in session. With a trusting relationship and curiosity, we can move into places that have felt judgmental or fearful. I believe that you are the expert of your own experiences. Working collaboratively we can support your innate capacity to heal and grow more connected to yourself and your values.
Making room for identity, culture and history
“the significance of navigating the oppressive systems of our world.”
Elisabeth Heffner, LCSW (she/her)
Read my reflection Close reflection
How do identity, culture, family or community enter the work you do with clients?
I practice with a relational and holistic lens for personal identity, culture, intergenerational trauma, and the significance of navigating the oppressive systems of our world. This context will influence how we work together in therapy to establish safety, build supportive coping skills, reflect on and process past experiences, identify values, and determine goals for therapy.