Elisa Dumesnil, MFT

I have referred several clients to Elisa Dumesnil, always with complete confidence that she will treat them compassionately, expertly, and with exquisite sensitivity. It is the rare psychotherapist who can combine this kind of clear insight, skillful technique, and human warmth always in just the right measure. Whether she’s working with a new mom, a troubled teen, or a couple sorting through marital issues, Elisa is somehow rock-​solid and pillow-​soft at the same time. I don’t know quite how it is that she always manages to hit exactly the right note with each person she sees, but I’m very glad she does. She is a tremendous community resource.

Elisa Dumesnil is the Marriage and Family Therapist facilitating the new mommies group I just started today at Tulip Grove in Oakland. I can already tell that this group is going to be great!
If I ever need a personal or marriage therapist again, I would totally go see her!

Elisa recently helped a friend of mine, who was going through a lot of family issues. I was seriously impressed! Not only did she help give direction, she also showed such compassion that it just naturally created a safe place for my friend to turn to. Elisa’s knowledge and expertise in her field does not take away (but simply adds to) her ability to really care and hear what her patients are going through. If you are in need of a counselor or therapist and not sure where to go, I would highly recommend her to anyone going through something sticky, difficult, or in a crisis.

Elisa is simply amazing. She facilitated a support group for new moms that I joined. She was always warm, attentive, supportive and kind. She always had great advice for us based on her years of experience. Elisa made everyone feel special and supported by going above and beyond for us.
Elisa rocks!!!

I met Elisa through a business group I belong to, and I am so glad that I did. We took our time getting to know one another, learning to understand what the other does and how it might help our clients (I’m an acupuncturist who sees a number of clients for mental/​emotional troubles). Recently I had the opportunity to refer a client to her who was going through a time of crisis, and his reports back have been glowing, as I hoped and suspected they would. I feel fortunate to have a therapist to refer to who brings as much understanding of what children and teens are going through and builds as much rapport with her clients as Elisa does. I have already begun to spread the word about her to my colleagues. Thanks, Elisa!

Elisa facilitated a Support Group for Mothers group that I participated in recently. She was warm, funny, supportive, insightful, and non-​judgmental. She regularly solicited feedback and even incorporated it into future sessions. She also had a good eye for spotting those of us that were in need of a little extra support on a given day and checked in one-​on-​one after our meeting or by telephone. I really appreciated her presence and felt like she went above-​and-​beyond. test.
I bet she’s equally fabulous as an individual or family therapist.
Oh, and
is a great resource too! I really benefited from meeting up with other mamas with similarly aged babies. Who else can you find who wants to talk about poo, sleep, and spitup for hours on end?! Well, we talked about a lot of other stuff too…

Elisa is a wonderful facilitator for Support Group for Mothers which is a facilitated moms group in the East Bay. She has a very warm and nurturing way about her and helped our group of new mamas tremendously through those first difficult weeks of being a new parent. Her passion and excitement for helping others really shines through & I can’t say enough how helpful it was to have a place to be each week where I could share my experiences (good and bad) with her and other moms who were in the same chapter of their lives. Elisa guided us through all the topics that naturally come up with a newborn: sleep, breastfeeding/​bottle-​feeding, returning to work or not, dealing with family/​partners, sleep, taking care of yourself, getting out of the house, sleep, childcare, postpartum issues … did I mention sleep? She allowed us to vent and helped us work through decisions, offered many tips & tricks and advice without being judgmental AT ALL. It was truly a pleasure to meet with her each week! I would recommend Support Group for Mothers to any mama and specifically Elisa as a facilitator!