About Elena
Elena Spanos is a licensed clinical social worker with 25 years of experience helping people manage stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain, trauma, grief, and life changes. She focuses on practical ways to ease daily struggles like sleep problems, low self-esteem, anger, and coping with chronic illness or caregiving stress. Elena aims to find approaches that fit each person rather than one-size-fits-all fixes.
Her style is straightforward and collaborative. Sessions involve talking through what is happening now, identifying unhelpful thoughts or behaviors, and trying small changes to test what helps.
Background and approach
She uses a mix of established methods to match the needs and goals brought into the room. Elena earned a Master of Social Work degree with a clinical focus from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of South Florida.
She became licensed in 2000 and has worked in schools, outpatient programs, in-home settings, and independent practice since 2002. Her license is Florida LCSW SW5979. Common topics she addresses include ADHD, bipolar mood concerns, family and blended-family stress, communication and commitment issues, domestic violence, and the emotional impact of serious illness or loss.
She also helps with abandonment fears, body image struggles, and the effects of natural or human-caused disasters. Elena blends Client-Centered, Cognitive Behavioral, Acceptance and Commitment, Dialectical Behavior, and Gottman approaches as appropriate. The emphasis is on practical steps, clear goals, and building skills people can use between sessions.
Approaches for online care and flexible access
Elena often uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. ACT focuses on helping people accept difficult feelings while identifying what matters most and taking steps in that direction. It can help with anxiety, grief, and life transitions by clarifying values and guiding actions. CBT looks at the link between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and teaches practical skills to reduce symptoms like worry, low mood, or sleep problems.She also draws on Client-Centered Therapy, which emphasizes listening, empathy, and building a trusting working relationship. Deciding which approach to use is collaborative - the therapist and the person explore goals, try methods, and adjust the plan based on what feels most helpful. Finding the right fit is part of the work together.
Online therapy is provided through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to offer flexibility. Video works well for deeper conversations and visual cues, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and text or chat can be useful for brief check-ins or practicing skills between meetings. These options help people fit therapy into busy schedules and different life demands.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
- Stress, Anxiety
- Family conflicts
- Anger management
Also works with
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sleeping disorders
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trauma and abuse
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 25 years
- Licensed
- Florida
- Languages
- English