Elisa Mantel-Smith, LCSW-R

Elisa Mantel-Smith is a licensed clinical social worker with a decade of experience helping people navigate hard moments. She earned her Master of Social Work from Columbia University and practices in New York. Elisa focuses on everyday thoughts and habits that influence mood and behavior, and she aims to make therapy approachable and practical.

She uses a straightforward, person-centered style that starts with what matters most to each person. Sessions often focus on day-to-day patterns - the thoughts, routines, and small choices that keep problems going. Elisa helps people identify concrete steps they can try between appointments to see what makes a difference.

Her background includes supporting people through stress, anxiety, grief, parenting strains, and relationship and family concerns. She also works with issues such as addiction, trauma and abuse, eating and body image struggles, ADHD, and compassion fatigue. Elisa brings experience from individual, family, and group settings into her work with clients.

Therapy draws on a mix of approaches including client-centered conversation, cognitive behavioral ideas, emotionally-focused work, solution-focused methods, and trauma-focused care. These approaches are used to match what a person needs rather than follow a fixed script.

Sessions are offered in English in New York. To begin, a reader can use the Start Therapy button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to the therapist's availability. The subscription used for sessions can be canceled at any time.

Approaches that shape online work

Elisa combines client-centered conversation with cognitive behavioral techniques to help people change unhelpful thoughts and habits, and she uses emotionally-focused ideas to address relationship and attachment concerns. Client-centered work means the therapist follows the person's lead, listens carefully, and builds on what matters most to them. Cognitive behavioral methods focus on spotting automatic thoughts and testing small behavioral experiments to reduce distress.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Elisa will talk with each person about their goals and try methods that fit their needs and preferences. Together they review what helps and adjust the plan as needed rather than sticking to one fixed path.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. In general, online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - for example, it can reduce travel time, allow shorter check-ins during a break, or remove the need to be on camera for every meeting. Licensed professionals and therapists can offer a range of approaches remotely and will adapt practical exercises so they work in the setting a client chooses.