About Elana Story
I'm Elana Story, LCSW—a queer, gender-expansive therapist with over 20 years of experience in the health, mental health and nonprofit sectors.
I have been practicing psychotherapy since 2012, and I love working with activists, artists, queer and trans folks, dreamers, spiritual seekers, helping professionals, LGBTQ++ parents, and those on the queer path to parenthood.
I received my Master of Social Work (MSW) from University of California, Berkeley and completed internships in a medical respite for Homeless individuals, as well as at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. For four years, I provided individual and family therapy with children and families in a Medi-Cal program in East Oakland, where I also managed and supervised staff. I have experience working in healthcare with underserved communities, providing clinical social work services at LifeLong Medical Care.
But, honestly? My real education came from navigating my own mental health journey, being part of queer communities, parenting in a non-traditional family, and building a practice rooted in liberation instead of the medical model that fails so many of us.
I have extensive professional and personal experience working with the LGBTQ community and with queer and trans parents. I used to run a Queer Path to Parenthood support group, which guided parents through the entire process, from pre-conception, to pregnancy & early postpartum, to a baby meet & greet.
My areas of expertise:
Queer and trans folks healing from trauma, including sexual trauma, rape and incest
Secondary trauma and burnout prevention
LGBTQ issues, including coming out and LGBTQ children/teens
The queer path to parenthood, including fertility struggles and non-traditional family structures
Gender journeys and transition support
Spirituality and religion
Family systems (chosen families, intentional communities, co-parenting dynamics, adult family members working through conflict)
Parents working to resource and reflect on themselves so they can show up for their children and family
Chronic illness/disabilities
Bipolar spectrum and neurodivergence approached from a strengths-based lens that sees the gifts alongside the challenges
Sex workers, kink and poly communities, and people with experiences that exist way outside mainstream norms. All of it is welcome.
I use various approaches in my practice, including somatic work (mindful attention to the body and nervous system), relational/depth psychotherapy, and an emerging modality called Lifespan Integration (a tool for processing past stressful experiences).
You’ll find my style to be direct, warm, compassionate, and irreverent. I'm not afraid to name patterns and to gently challenge you to move forward out of unhelpful holding patterns. As a member of the queer community, I use humor to build connection and to validate our shared reality. I believe healing happens in relationship, and that the work we do together ripples outward into your family, your community, your world.
I have a deep interest in how progressive religion can lead to social change. I’ve studied Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and have had some experience training in chaplaincy. I aspire to become a death doula one day. Movement, creativity and my spiritual practices, which are mostly Jewish, are my ways of staying grounded and mindful.