Elizabeth A. Wood, MFT
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
ABOUT
Elizabeth A. Wood, MFT
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist #126337
Registered Expressive Arts Therapist #2019
Ph.D. Student
Thank you for visiting my website. I use a relational psychoanalytic approach, integrating art therapies into my practice. I enjoy working with folks navigating grief, depression, anxiety, and stress related to life transitions and relationships.
I have a private psychoanalytic psychotherapy practice in Santa Cruz, California. I'm also currently a PhD Student at the California Institute of Integral Studies researching the efficacy of psychoanalytic treatment for depression and suicidality in young adults.
In the fall of 2021, I was selected to train with the Palo Alto Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program (PAPPTP) Two-Year Program at the Stanford University Psychiatry Building. As part of this certificate program, I underwent two years of weekly consultations with psychoanalysts, Drs. Schneider and Birkhofer. I completed training with the PAPPTP- Fellowship Year in Spring 2021 and completed their Two-Year Program in Spring 2024.
I have additional immersive training in Art Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Open Dialogue, suicide risk evaluation for children and adults, and the treatment of disordered eating.
Before opening my private practice, I worked as a Senior Therapist with the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) and for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in their Emergency Department. I spent several years working in a crisis stabilization unit and psychiatric hospital in Santa Cruz while completing my hours for licensure. After I earned my master's in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, I moved to Oahu to work as an art therapist for children with the Hawaii Department of Education.
Outside of my practice and analytic training I often surf, hike, draw, and spend time in nature and conversation with my family and friends. I played two Division I sports in college, grew up on a horse farm, and come from a lineage of healthcare providers, land conservationists, athletes, and artists.
