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ES Portrait of Ellen Silbert

Ellen Silbert

Compassionate LICSW blending practical tools and empathy

LICSW Massachusetts

Experience
40 years in practice
Focus areas
Stress, Anxiety, Family, Grief
Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Client-Centered Therapy
Languages
English

About Ellen

Ellen Silbert is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with four decades of clinical experience in Massachusetts.

Background and approach

She works with people dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and abuse, addictions, relationship and family difficulties, parenting challenges, intimacy concerns, eating and sleeping problems, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and related life adjustments.

Her practice also addresses a wide range of additional areas such as adoption and foster care issues, caregiving stress, chronic illness and pain, body image, and domestic violence.

Throughout a long career that began after earning a master's degree in clinical social work, Ellen has practiced across many settings and age ranges, providing support from labor and delivery through end-of-life care. She emphasizes an open-minded, nonjudgmental stance that aims to foster trust and emotional safety as a foundation for change.

Her approach integrates client-centered listening with evidence-informed methods like cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, emotionally-focused work, and motivational interviewing to address patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. Ellen offers messaging, live chat, phone, and video sessions and typically responds to messages daily.

She encourages prospective clients to reach out and notes that scheduling may be adjusted by messaging to explore mutually available times.

Evidence-informed approaches for online care

CBT focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors to reduce distress and improve daily functioning; it is often used for anxiety, depression, sleep and eating challenges, and coping with life changes. Client-centered therapy emphasizes empathetic listening and collaboration so clients feel heard and can develop self-awareness and resilience through a supportive therapeutic relationship. Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people explore and reorganize emotional responses and attachment patterns, which can be useful for relationship and intimacy-related concerns.

Ellen approaches choosing techniques as a collaborative process, working with each person to determine which methods best match their needs, goals, and preferences. She blends practical skill-building with reflective conversation and adapts interventions over time as progress and priorities evolve.

Online therapy with Ellen is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which allows for scheduling flexibility and ongoing support between sessions. These formats can make it easier to fit therapy into busy lives and to access care from different locations within Massachusetts, while still allowing for regular, consistent work on goals.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Ellen commonly work with?
Ellen supports people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, addictions, family and relationship difficulties, parenting issues, eating and sleeping problems, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and many related life challenges.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her style is warm and client-centered, emphasizing trust, open-minded listening, and emotional safety while combining practical skills and reflective exploration to help clients move forward.
What relevant experience does she bring to sessions?
With about 40 years of practice, Ellen has worked in diverse clinical settings including labor and delivery and hospice, offering broad experience across medical and life-stage issues.
What are Ellen's credentials and where is she based?
She holds an MA and is licensed as an LICSW in Massachusetts; her license is listed as MA LICSW 117806.
Does she work in languages other than English or accept international clients?
Sessions are conducted in English, and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats are available with Ellen?
Ellen offers video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and needs.
How much do sessions cost and how are they billed?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should someone do to begin working with her?
To get started, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule according to the therapist's availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Stress, AnxietyFamily conflictsGriefParenting issuesCoping with life changes

Also works with

AddictionsLGBTRelationship issuesTrauma and abuseIntimacy-related issuesEating disordersSleeping disordersAnger managementSelf esteemCareer difficultiesBipolar disorderDepressionCoachingCompassion fatigueADHD

Additional focus areas

Adoption and foster careAging and geriatric issuesAttachment issuesBlended family issuesBody imageCancerCaregiver issues and stressChronic pain, illness, and disabilityCo-morbidityCodependencyCommunication problemsControl issuesDependent personalityDivorce and separationDomestic violenceEating and food-related issuesFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsFatherhood issuesFertility issuesFirst responder issuesForgivenessGender dysphoriaGuilt and shameHospice and end-of-life counselingInfidelityIntellectual disabilityIsolation / lonelinessJealousyMidlife crisisVeteran and Armed Forces IssuesMulticultural concernsObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPolyamory / non-monogamous relationshipsPostpartum depressionPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthSeasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)Self-loveSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issues

Therapeutic approaches

Client-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)Mindfulness TherapyMotivational InterviewingSolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

40+ years

Licensed

Massachusetts

Languages

English