Welcome to Embodied & Connected – I’m Lindsay Elin (she/her). I’m a somatic trauma and attachment therapist, a gender-affirming family therapist and a parent coach to parents of trans/non-binary young people. I’ve been working as a counsellor for 23 years and as a psychotherapist for 13. I also offer individual and group clinical consultation and hold somatic group practice space for other white therapists and coaches who do work around challenging white supremacy and/or who are looking to deepen their capacity and relational sturdiness working with issues related to whiteness.

I am licensed to work virtually as a psychotherapist with people living in Ontario and I provide (clinical) consultation services to other therapists and organizations located anywhere.

Areas of Expertise

I provide individual psychotherapy to people struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, boundary-related issues (feeling overwhelmed, avoidance, relationship/work-related problems, etc.), dissociation, gender identity-related issues, covid-related anxiety, grief and end of life-related issues, developmental/attachment trauma, healing from the traumas of white supremacy, patriarchy and other forms of oppression, executive functioning challenges / ADHD-related struggles, parenting challenges (including breaking intergenerational patterns in parenting and implementing respectful parenting strategies).

I provide family services to young people and their parents wishing to have support with all aspects of gender transition, improve communication, strengthen relationships and a felt sense of belonging at home, improve mental health and reduce tension in the family. This initially involves individual sessions with the young person and separate parent sessions. Later, parents and young people come together for a number of structured family therapy sessions. Family work can also include siblings and other family members.

I provide services to couples (and other relationship configurations) working through the complexities of gender identity/transition/navigating transphobia, transmisogyny and cissexism and other intersecting oppressions on their relationship. I also specialize in supporting parents of gender independent/trans/non-binary children and youth to support their child by building knowledge about gender-related issues, working through fears and misinformation and strengthening their relationship. I enjoy working with parents and couples to support them to better understand how their nervous systems – shaped by systems of oppression and early patterns of relating – impact their interactions with their loved ones, how to repair past hurts, and how to grow a rich and meaningful life together.

Therapeutic Approach, Modalities and Framework

My style is warm, grounded and practical. It is deeply rooted in an ongoing practice of consent. I believe that by sharing knowledge about trauma, dissociation, attachment, the nervous system, the brain, and systems of oppression (white supremacy, patriarchy, cissexism, late stage capitalism etc.), my clients can better understand and contextualize the symptoms that bring them to therapy and feel more empowered in our work together. However, my practice is not focused on “talk therapy”. In fact, many of my clients have tried talk-focused therapy for years before beginning to work with me. My work draws from the latest developments in the fields of neuroscience, attachment and trauma that points to the brain/nervous system/body’s innate wisdom and ability to heal and change. These central tenets of somatic psychotherapy are in no way “new” – my engagement with this work is grounded in the recognition that Indigenous knowledge has always centered the body in healing and that “neurobiology is finally catching up”.

I am grateful to draw from the following modalities in my work. Please see “About Me” for an acknowledgment of other colleagues, friends, trainings and teachers who have influenced my work.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy – a mindfulness-based, somatic, attachment- and trauma-focused approach which uses the body as a pathway for healing, developed by Pat Ogden, PhD. (Level 2 complete)

Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST)- a parts oriented approach aimed at finding safety in the body and promoting internal secure attachment, developed by Janina Fisher, PhD. TIST integrates Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy techniques, structural dissociation theory, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Certified)

Brainspotting – a brain-body/nervous system approach developed by David Grand, PhD, that harnesses the brain’s innate ability to self-heal in the context of a neurobiologically- and relationally-attuned therapeutic relationship (Certified)

Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) – a short term, music/acoustic intervention based on Polyvagal theory and developed by Dr. Stephen Porges that uses the middle ear muscles and the vagus nerve to shift the client’s nervous system out of defensive states (fight/flight/freeze) and into more regulation. Once a more balanced physiological state is achieved, clients can better use and integrate other therapies. (Certified)

Attachment-Based Family Therapy (ABFT) – a family therapy approach developed by Guy Diamond, PhD, Gary Diamond, PhD and Suzanne Levy, PhD for improving youth mental health issues such as depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts by repairing attachment ruptures and increasing parental attunement and sensitivity to their adolescent’s struggles (Advanced training complete)

I work from a gender affirming, harm reduction, anti-oppressive, embodied anti-racist, neurodiversity-affirming framework, which recognizes and engages with the impact of intersecting oppressions (colonization, racism, sexism, transphobia, transmisogyny, homophobia, fat phobia, ableism etc.) on my clients’ lives and in our work together. I developed this framework in community – from living, loving, organizing, working and learning from and with brilliant queer / trans / disabled / fat / neurodivergent / femme / BIPOC and white folks committed to working through the traumas of white supremacy and patriarchy together over the past 20+ years. I find meaning in supporting others to interrupt cycles of intergenerational and societal trauma and to create space within and between us for more collective healing, social change and joy.

Expertise working with LGBTQI2S+ communities

I bring personal and professional experience to my work around sexual orientation and gender identity, and enjoy supporting LGBTQI2S+  clients, their partners and families my practice.

• I have worked with trans / non-binary communities for the past 20+ years. I provide exploratory counselling for people considering questions about their gender identity, and can provide transition-related supports (including OHIP approval/”Second Assessor” surgical readiness assessments and letters), and referrals to Ontario-based services. I work competently around issues related to internalized transmisogyny / transphobia / patriarchal white supremacy.
• I have expertise supporting trans people to work through painful and/or traumatic experiences related to societal oppression,their parents’/partners’ reactions to their coming out and build self-compassion and self love.
• I work comfortably and competently around issues including: negotiating and nurturing diverse relationship models (open relationships, polyamory, non-monogamy, intentional monogamy, etc.), sex, sexuality, sex work, BDSM, kink and intimacy issues.

When clients’ needs fall outside the scope of my practice and training, I am pleased to provide referrals to other qualified counsellors, psychotherapists or community agencies. I am always happy to provide a list of trans/non-binary/QTBIPOC therapists also working around these issues.

How could therapy help?

In my work with individuals, I support my clients to gain deeper understanding about themselves and their relationships, build skills to relate to difficult emotions or trauma symptoms, process painful childhood and societal experiences, improve their capacity for self compassion, set boundaries and to gain access to more choice when it comes to using survival coping skills (self injury, addictive behaviours etc.). I love helping people learn skills to become more embodied, to recognize and heal from the ways the traumas of white supremacy and patriarchy have shaped our ways of relating to ourselves and others, to understand and tend to their nervous systems, to become better partners and parents, to become kinder towards themselves, to let go of shame and to build lives that feel meaningful.

In my parenting, family and couples work, I support families/partners to improve their capacity to communicate honestly about emotionally charged issues, work through challenges stemming from trauma or attachment wounding in their relationship, repair relationship “ruptures” (painful conflicts, misunderstandings, or experiences of disconnection) and to build emotional skills to relate differently to each other — particularly in the face of strong emotions such as anger, fear and hurt. I enjoy supporting parents to break intergenerational patterns of trauma and to parent in ways that are different than how they may have been parented. My approach is rooted in a deep respect for children and is informed by RIE, interpersonal neurobiology, attachment theory and polyvagal theory. I am especially grateful to my child and for the work of Dr. Mona Delahooke, Robin Einzig and Janet Lansbury, who have shaped my understanding of respectful, relationship-centered parenting.

I would be honoured to support you and/or your family through life’s challenges and transitions. Please do not hesitate to contact me for a free telephone consultation to discuss how I can be of support to you.

Lindsay Elin (she/her)

lindsayelinMSW@gmail.com