Elizabeth Cummings

Elizabeth is a registered counsellor, psychotherapist and teacher with a special interest in working with young people and their families. With over 30 years experience working with young people and their families in the education sector, Elizabeth has a deep understanding of the dynamics involved.

Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology & Business Studies), Masters of Art Education, Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy and is trained in Family Based Therapy (FBT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E), Collaborative Carer Skills Workshop (CCSW). With a professional interest in bringing together creativity and lived experience, Elizabeth takes an integrative approach, including person-centred, behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic, and mindfulness theoretical orientation. Elizabeth has further training in trauma-informed child and youth mind and body practices with the YogaEd Academy and the NALAG (National Association of Loss and Grief) as well as in visual arts, creative dance and drama to help support clients according to their unique situation.

Elizabeth has experience working with clients of all ages, identities, and stages of life and her takes an inclusive approach holding the clients’ worldview in their wellness journeys as paramount and as such fundamental to sustained health. Elizabeth is an experienced speaker on eating disorder and family health matters both internationally as well as more locally. Elizabeth also works with The Butterfly Foundation with both the Carer Support Groups and Evidence-Based Carer Skills programme. Elizabeth is part of the Academy of Eating Disorders (AED) blog team. This global network helps physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, nutritionists, academic researchers, students and experts through lived experience connect and collaborate with each other and keep abreast of recent developments in eating disorders research. Elizabeth has a special interest in the area of lived experience and published a resource for families as a tool to platform ED conversations with younger family members titled The Disappearing Sister (2015) and has conducted research into carers’ experience of therapeutic services as part of her Masters thesis.