Elias Gootzeit, LCSW-R

Elias Gootzeit is a licensed clinical social worker with 40 years of experience helping people cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma. He works with parents and caregivers who feel overwhelmed and supports people facing life transitions like divorce or moves into young adulthood. Elias offers calm, clear guidance and practical tools you can use between sessions.

He focuses on real problems such as anger, isolation, feelings of abandonment, and attachment concerns. Sessions include straightforward skill-building for emotional regulation and ways to manage caregiver burden. Elias also helps people process guilt, shame, and experiences of domestic violence or other trauma.

Elias trained at Fordham University where he earned a Master’s in Social Work in 1978 and holds a New York LCSW-R. Over four decades he has kept updating his skills and has experience with divorce mediation and Multi-Dimensional Family Therapy approaches. This background informs how he structures sessions and supports decision making.

His style is liberal and non-religious, and he aims to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space. Conversations are practical and rooted in evidence-based methods, with an emphasis on building resilience and clearer self-understanding. Parents and caregivers will find concrete strategies for daily life.

People who work with Elias typically leave with a set of coping techniques and a clearer sense of next steps. He frames therapy as a collaborative process and helps people identify priorities, whether that is healing from past trauma or finding purpose in the present.

Approaches that guide online work and practical benefits

Many of Elias's methods are evidence-based techniques focused on coping skills and emotional processing. One common approach is skill-based work that teaches methods for managing anxiety and anger, such as breathing, grounding, and step-by-step emotion regulation. These skills help reduce reactivity and make daily life easier.

Another strand is trauma-focused processing where the therapist helps people make sense of past events and their effects. That work aims to reduce intrusive memories and build more stable routines for sleep, mood, and relationships. A third element is support for caregivers and parents, offering strategies to reduce burnout and improve problem solving around care tasks and family demands.

Choosing the right approach is part of the process. Elias collaborates with each person to pick methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. He adjusts techniques over time based on what helps most, so the work remains practical and focused.

Session formats are not specified in the biography, so confirm current options before booking. In general, online therapy can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy life, shorten travel time, and allow quicker check-ins between in-person visits. It can also make it simpler to arrange sessions around caregiving duties and work schedules.