Helping You Navigate Life’s Challenges With Insight and Heart
Guiding You Toward Connection, Clarity, and Confidence
THERAPY, COACHING
Elizabeth David, MS, LMFT
I’m Elizabeth “Liz” David, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and founder of Hope in Healing Therapeutic Services. I work with thoughtful adults and couples who want to better understand the patterns affecting their relationships, decisions, and emotional well-being.
My approach is collaborative, conversational, and grounded in systems thinking. I am interested not only in what is happening, but in what surrounds it: relationships, expectations, work, family experiences, responsibilities, and the patterns that may be keeping something going.
Licensed in Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Connecticut, I provide online therapy for individuals and couples navigating anxiety, internal pressure, grief, burnout, life transitions, relationship conflict, and recurring patterns that no longer seem to be working.
Hope in Healing is the therapeutic division of The Liz David Collective, a network dedicated to helping individuals, families, and organizations relate, adapt, and grow.
My Story
In 2008, I made a pivotal decision to fully embrace my passion for counseling and coaching, fulfilling a promise to a close friend who encouraged me to use my skills to support individuals and couples on their journey toward growth. Although I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Counseling Psychology in 2004, I initially pursued a successful career in the corporate world. Even so, my greatest joy came from mentoring, teaching, and helping others develop personally and professionally.
With the encouragement of family and friends, I took the leap to return to school and dedicate myself to individual therapy and couples counseling. The journey was challenging, but it has allowed me to walk alongside my clients as they navigate anxiety, stress, relationship challenges, and life transition.
When I’m not in session, you’ll likely find me cheering on my Philadelphia Eagles (Go Birds!), spending time with my family and friends, or exploring new adventures through travel, trying new restaurants, visiting small towns, and supporting local shops. I bring the same curiosity, enthusiasm, and love of connection from these experiences into my work with clients, helping them explore new perspectives and embrace growth in their own lives.
Learning Alongside Salvador Minuchin
For approximately eight years, I had the opportunity to learn alongside Salvador Minuchin, one of the most influential figures in the field of family therapy. That experience became an important part of my development as a therapist.
What stayed with me was not simply a therapeutic model, but a way of thinking: to remain curious about what is happening between people, to look beyond the most obvious explanation, and to consider a person within the relationships, environments, and systems around them. Those years continue to influence how I listen, the questions I ask, and the way I think about people and the possibility for change.
My Therapeutic Approach
At Hope in Healing, I approach therapy from a systems perspective. That means I rarely assume that what brings someone to therapy exists in isolation. Anxiety, grief, stress, burnout, and relationship conflict are often connected to the relationships, expectations, experiences, environments, and patterns surrounding us.
I am naturally curious about those connections. We may look at what is happening now, what seems to trigger it, how other people respond, what happens next, and what may unintentionally be keeping a pattern going. Sometimes the most useful question is not simply, “Why do I do this?” but “What happens around me when I do?”
Therapy with me is collaborative and conversational. I ask questions, share observations, and may challenge an assumption when I think it could help us see something differently. I am not interested in telling you how you should live your life. My role is to help us become curious about what is happening, identify the options available to you, and determine what makes sense for your life.
I also believe change does not always require starting from scratch. We pay attention to what is already working, when the problem is less present, and what you may already be doing that can help us understand where change is possible.
Ultimately, I want therapy to be useful. The goal is not to stay in therapy forever. It is to develop greater clarity about yourself, your relationships, and the patterns affecting your life so that you can make intentional choices about what you want to keep, what you want to change, and when you are ready to move forward without regular therapy.
A Different Path to Therapy
My path to becoming a therapist was not a straight line. Before moving into clinical work full time, I spent more than 20 years in corporate America, working in roles that ranged from administrative to executive leadership.
That experience gave me a firsthand understanding of demanding workplaces, competing priorities, leadership responsibilities, organizational change, and the pressure that can come with being responsible for both people and outcomes. It also gave me years of watching systems at work. People respond to expectations, roles, relationships, communication, and changes around them, whether the system is a workplace, a family, or a relationship.
I don't assume that having worked in corporate America means I automatically understand someone else's experience. But it does give me context for asking better questions and understanding some of the environments my clients are navigating.
My experience has taught me that meaningful change is possible when you have the right support. I am here to provide that support, offering guidance, encouragement, and practical strategies as you work toward your goals. No matter how daunting the path may feel, there is hope when someone believes in your potential and walks with you every step of the way.
What To Expect
Your patterns of communication and interaction are endlessly fascinating to me. Whether it’s small everyday choices or the complex dynamics in relationships, I remain deeply curious about what drives our decisions and connections. My background allows me to approach these dynamics with a balance of structured, traditional insight and an appreciation for independence and personal growth in today’s world.
In our sessions, you can expect an open, collaborative dialogue where your perspective—and that of your partner, if applicable—is valued. We’ll explore not only the challenges that brought you here but also your broader experiences and views on life. My goal is to create a relaxed, reflective space that encourages deeper understanding, fosters empathy, and lays the foundation for meaningful, positive change.
Together, we will work to re-establish hope and strengthen the connections that matter most. Here’s what you can expect from therapy with me:
A broadened perspective: Discover new ways of relating to others and gain insight into your relationships.
Personal insights: Learn more about yourself and develop deeper self-awareness.
Supportive guidance: Engage in conversations that motivate, encourage openness, and foster growth.
Safe and nurturing dialogue: Experience meaningful interactions in a supportive, judgment-free environment.
Through individual therapy and couples counseling, my focus is on helping you develop tools to navigate life’s challenges, improve communication, and build stronger, healthier connections.
Get started with Hope in Healing, today.
Get Started Today.
(202) 336-4819
