I am currently accepting new clients both in-person and online.

Elizabeth "Betsy" Conlan, LCSW

License #LCSW19012

Therapy for adults whose lives may look good from the outside—but feel heavy on the inside

Welcoming clients at my Redwood City office and online across California

LCSW#19012

Reaching out for support takes real courage—I'm glad you're here!

With more than thirty years of experience, I bring deep clinical expertise to complex life challenges. My background allows me to bring practical insight, deep experience, and a grounded, compassionate, adaptable presence to our partnership.

I provide person-centered, relational, and attachment-informed therapy focused on helping you step out of old protective survival strategies and create patterns that truly serve you today. Our work is strength-based and fully tailored to your unique neuro-processing profile and life experience.

Healthcare Provider & Clinician Burnout: 30 years of experience navigating hospital and mental health system dynamics; addressing moral injury and workplace boundaries.
Parkinson’s, Dementia, & Caregiver Support: 7 years of specialized clinical experience at the Stanford Neuroscience Health Center helping diagnosed individuals and family care partners navigate identity shifts, grief, and burnout.
Neurodivergent Adults: Strengths-based, neuro-affirming support.
Life Transitions & Relational Growth: Support for college launching, career changes, empty nesting, retirement, and shifting interpersonal patterns.

Do any of the following resonate with you?

You've built a successful life- yet inside, you're struggling

When your life looks good on paper, it is easy to fall into a trap of self-judgment. You might tell yourself, "I have no right to feel this way," or "I should be happier." But that internal struggle is real, and it is trying to tell you something important.

The fact that you are struggling despite your success isn't a failure—it's a sign that the old survival strategies and adaptations that got you this far are no longer serving who you are today. You don't have to figure it out alone, and you don't have to keep carrying the exhaustion of performing a perfect life. I see therapy as a collaborative, non-judgmental space where you can safely drop the armor, understand your unique blueprint, and finally find relief.

You're a healthcare provider and feeling burnout

Having spent 30 years navigating the intense pressures of hospitals and mental health settings, I deeply understand the unique breed of burnout you are facing. I know what it’s like to be squeezed between your ethical commitment to patient care and the demands of our current healthcare systems.

As a therapist, I’m not here to give you generic advice on "self-care" or ask you to meditate the systemic dysfunction away. Instead, I want to offer you a confidential, judgment-free space where you don't have to be the strong one, the fixer, or the expert. Together, we can address the moral injury of operating in a broken system, work on untangling your personal identity from your grueling workload, and establish fierce, practical boundaries to protect your energy. You spend your life holding space for everyone else’s pain—let this be the place where someone holds it for you.

You're navigating a major life transition

Whether you're shifting into new professional or personal chapters - college, career development, becoming a parent, adjusting to an empty nest, stepping into retirement, grieving a loved one, or dealing with a life altering illness - these transitions can bring unexpected emotional waves.

We can work together to navigate these shifts with compassion, helping you process the emotional waves, ground yourself in your new reality, and build a meaningful path forward.

You want deeper connection with others and yourself

Therapy can help you understand how you relate to the people in your life, including the patterns set early on that may no longer serve you.

Our work is entirely collaborative: together, we will look at what is working, what is not, and what you want to change.

Your brain feels wired differently

Maybe you process information, sensory inputs, or emotions in a way that feels distinct from the norm. Often, people who think differently spend a lifetime trying to fit into a neurotypical mold, which leads to deep exhaustion.

I view neurodiversity not as a disorder to be fixed, but as a unique blueprint to be understood. If you are navigating the world as a neurodivergent individual—or suspect you might be—therapy can be a collaborative space to honor your unique strengths, manage your energy, and find strategies that actually align with how your brain works.

You or a loved one has Parkinson's or dementia

Receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, Dementia or another progressive illness changes everything in an instant—not just for the person diagnosed, but for the entire family.

Backed by seven years of specialized clinical experience at the Stanford Neuroscience Health Center, I provide a steady, compassionate, and highly informed space to help you navigate the profound emotional, practical, and existential shifts that follow.

For the Individual Holding the Diagnosis

A life-altering medical diagnosis often triggers an unspoken identity crisis. Together, we can work on processing grief, navigating identity shifts, managing anxiety and uncertainty, and exploring the deep, big questions about life, legacy, and autonomy with dignity and profound respect.

For the Care Partner & Family

Caregiving is an act of profound love, but it is also one of the most emotionally and physically taxing roles a person can experience. Together, we can work on alleviating caregiver burnout, managing compassion fatigue, guilt and anticipatory grief, navigating changing dynamics within your relationship, and establishing sustainable boundaries so you don't have to carry the weight alone.

I believe we all need help at times and you don’t have to carry the weight alone

I invite you to schedule a free 15 minute consultation to see if working together feels right.

Contact me

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