Rising Stars: Meet Elena White of Echo Park, Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena White.

Hi Elena, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been fascinated by feelings and the psyche, especially the deeper pieces of ourselves that we cannot consciously know.
When I was very young, I was often very anxious, even overwhelmed. Now I recognize this as a hyperawareness and sensitivity to my environment, as well as the first relationships I had with the people around me. I was curious and inquisitive and extremely emotional, and this was not reflected back to me as a safe way to be. I knew from the time I was 12 years old that I wanted to do my own work in therapy (I had a best friend whose mother was a therapist), and that I could sense things that were unknowable to others.
This also later fueled my desire to have my life’s work be providing help and relief to others by way of psychotherapy, astrology and connection: to help others understand their own overwhelm, anxiety and desire to connect and understand what is beneath the surface; to assist and guide others in the day-to-day, the dark night of the soul, and anything in between.
My specialty is working with women in their late 40s and into their 50s on the fascinating intersection of perimenopause, lack of family/parental support, and the difficult-but-worth-it Chiron return (ask me what that is!).

I love to use birth charts to help others understand archetypal themes, challenges, and especially opportunities for growth and liberation. And it can be fun! I also offer astrology readings separate from my psychotherapy practice.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Becoming a psychotherapist has been a long journey. More like a winding roads, unexpected bumps and beautiful wildflowers along the way. Having a private practice and being a business owner can be difficult; it’s not like we were taught how to run our own businesses in graduate school. But having my own business gives me the freedom to do the type of work I want to be doing, with clients who are wanting to explore some deep work. We are also hopefully always learning and growing. I am committed to my own ongoing learning and growth so that I can continue to offer this to others. This is often the task of people with important placements in their 12th house natal chart (again: ask me!).

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a psychotherapist focusing on recovery from narcissistic abuse and trauma (primarily from a parent or caregiver). I also specialize in working with women in their late 40s and early 50s who are navigating perimenopause, life changes, and reexamining who they are and how they want to identify. I often hear the same thing from both clients and friends: “why didn’t anyone tell us about this?” I feel honored and proud to be witness to this time in our lives that often gets very little attention, research or importance.
I especially love utilizing tarot and astrology in sessions, to help name and de-pathologize how this time in life gets repackaged and sold back to us. I believe that combining these modalities and themes sets me apart from others: combining planetary archetypes, tarot and community to bring to this midlife ride helps women realize that we’re all doing this together, and can learn from each other and ourselves.
I also co-founded a group called Women on the Verge of with my dear friend/nutritionist/herbalist, Lyssandra Guerra. We explore many of these themes together once per month, to coincide with the full moon.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Podcasts:

The Astrology Podcast

The Witch Wave

Weekly Astro Weather with Dalanah

Books:
No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model
Richard Schwartz

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
Melody Beattie

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents
Lindsay Gibson

Intuition in Therapeutic Practice: A Mind-Centered Depth Approaching for Healing
Margaret Arnd-Caddigan

Modern Tarot
Michelle Tea

Tarot As a Way of Life: A Jungian Approach to the Tarot
Karen Hamaker-Zondag

Anything by Eve Babitz, Sandra Cisneros, or Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Pricing:

• Chiron return readings: $250
• Individual Psychotherapy: $250

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elenawhitemft.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenawhitepsychotherapy/

Image Credits
headshot: Lyssandra Guerra

office photos: Mary Robinson, LMFT