- Client-Centered approach
- CBT strategies
- Gottman Method elements
About Elisa
Elisa Doebler-Irvine is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Oregon with 28 years of clinical experience. She works with people facing stress, anxiety, relationship and family concerns, parenting struggles, grief, trauma and abuse, addictions, eating issues, bipolar disorder, depression, and anger. Elisa sees individuals and couples and draws on training in counseling psychology, marriage and family therapy, and clinical human sexuality.
Her approach is collaborative and client-centered. She blends psychodynamic thinking with cognitive-behavioral strategies and uses mindfulness and relationship-focused methods when helpful. Sessions focus on clear, practical work rather than abstract theory. Clients often look at how solutions that once helped are now causing trouble, and the work is about shifting those patterns.
Elisa pays attention to the wider systems people live in - family, social, and cultural influences. That perspective surfaces in conversations about family of origin, blended family issues, adoption and foster care, and caregiver stress. She also addresses communication problems, commitment and control issues, and intimacy-related concerns.
Her background includes outpatient mental health, residential treatment, forensic assessment and consulting, university teaching, and private practice. Training includes a master's degree in Counseling Psychology and a PhD focusing on Marriage and Family Therapy, plus a two-year post-graduate program in Clinical Human Sexuality. That mix informs how she integrates relationship work and individual therapy.
Practical tools are part of the work. Elisa uses cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindfulness exercises, and elements from the Gottman Method when relationships are involved. She also brings in ideas from Positive Psychology to help people build resilience and daily well-being.
How Elisa’s approaches translate to online therapy
Elisa uses client-centered work alongside cognitive-behavioral strategies and relationship methods. Client-Centered Therapy focuses on the client’s perspective and goals, helping people feel heard and guiding them to their own answers. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) breaks problems into thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and uses practical exercises to shift unhelpful patterns. The Gottman Method offers concrete communication skills and conflict tools when relationship functioning is a concern.Deciding which approach to use is collaborative. Elisa will talk with each person about their goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t worked before. Together they choose which tools to try and adjust the plan as needed based on how the work goes.
Confirm the session formats available before booking, as current options are not listed here. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life - shorter check-ins can fit a lunch break, video can allow face-to-face interaction without travel, and phone sessions can use less bandwidth. These practical benefits help people maintain consistent work on anger, relationships, grief, or anxiety while juggling everyday demands.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
28+ years
Listed in
Oregon
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of problems does she help with?
She helps people with stress, anxiety, depression, relationship and family issues, parenting challenges, trauma, addictions, eating and body image concerns, grief, anger, and related problems.
What is her therapeutic style?
Her style is collaborative and client-centered, mixing psychodynamic perspectives with cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness techniques. She often combines relationship-focused methods when partnership issues are present.
How much experience does she have?
She has 28 years of experience working in outpatient settings, residential treatment, forensic assessment, consulting, teaching, and private practice.
Is she a licensed counselor and where does she practice?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Oregon.
Which languages are available for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she see clients outside the United States?
International clients are not currently accepted.
How are sessions paid for and what do they cost?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.