Liz Bristow

I am a relational, mindfulness focused therapist having worked for twenty years in both private practice and as a school and community outreach clinician on the north shore of Boston.   My work focuses on integrating the mind, body and spirit for healing in a caring, trusted relationship with each other. In the words of Ram Das “we are all just walking each other home.” I have a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and am licensed in Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire. I come to my work as a therapist through my own life journey, which I bring to my practice as a clinician.  In my mid-30’s, the end of my ten year marriage and parent to a young child, propelled me into therapy, something I am eternally grateful for – as the theologian, Richard Rohr, explains, after a crisis there is the opportunity for a second half of life.  Over time I have raised and co-parented that young child to young adulthood, and cared for both of my parents at the end of their lives, my mom during COVID, while she lived in an assisted living facility.  Someone described life experiences, the hard, painful, beautiful and boring, as compost for rich soil, an analogy I have really grown to appreciate as a very good descriptor.   My life experience has deepened my understanding of suffering, and in turn, compassion and love, for this journey of life. We live in a time that is overwhelming - with information, with pressure to succeed and achieve, and we are increasingly lonely and isolated.  Through my work I hope to create a warm, compassionate space to explore how to live into this one precious life you have been given.  To get centered and grounded, even if very briefly, to find your beloved self – not the one that you perceive as broken or stuck or misunderstood. I practice holistically, drawing on many therapeutic theories and am deeply interested in the intersection of psychology, mindfulness and spirituality.  In addition, I am a certified yoga instructor, which is always a reminder of how our thoughts and feelings live in our bodies.  It is my hope, that in talking with me you can develop better insight into yourself and others and expand into possibilities that have felt completely out of reach. I look forward to welcoming you to my practice, Liz