Elena McKinney

Master level intern

Elena believes in the power of the counseling relationship in that it has the potential to serve as a catalyst for individual insight, progressive change and overall mental health wellness. For this process to take place, there must be a certain level of willingness and openness on behalf of the client and the counselor to develop a collaborative, therapeutic relationship.

​

Elena strives to create a safe and secure environment that encourages acceptance and understanding and will work together with her clients to establish a collaborative therapeutic relationship while addressing client’s presenting concerns and creating goals for improvement and change. Elena has lived half of her life in Italy and half in America, she is bilingual and understands the difficulties people encounter when adjusting to a new culture and the challenges that this transition poses. Elena is also passionate about maternal mental health and has experience in assisting new mothers during the perinatal stage and is eager to provide emotional support to new mothers.

​

The foundation of her theoretical orientation lies within humanistic, psychodynamic, and attachment based therapeutic approaches informed by family systems theory and trauma-informed lenses. She also has started specialized training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) primarily used in individual counseling, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Lastly, she also integrates Dr. John Townsend’s Character Model, a research-informed, Biblically-based, psychodynamic approach to character diagnosis and treatment in her clinical work.

​

Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the Townsend Institute for Leadership and Counseling at Concordia University Irvine. Her previous degree includes a bachelor of science in Communication and over a decade in the corporate world. Presently, she is beginning her formal counseling experience as an Internship student with Grace Counseling Services and is excited to help her clients grow into their potential.