Elana Feuerman, LMSW

Deep meaning often lies in childish play.

Elana Feuerman, LMSW's style

Why Elana Feuerman, LMSW chose to be in the helping profession

I started working with children as a teacher when I was just nineteen, almost a decade ago, and I’ve loved it ever since. Teaching lights me up. I find joy in the chaos, meaning in the small wins, and purpose in helping kids grow. But even in the most rewarding moments, I found myself asking deeper questions. Could I do more than teach the curriculum? Could I reach the child who bursts into tears during every fire drill, or support the mother who’s exhausted from repeating herself day after day?

That’s when my work started to shift. I realized my passion wasn’t just for teaching, it was for understanding. For helping children feel safe in their bodies and homes, and for guiding parents toward connection, not just compliance. What started as a love for the classroom grew into a calling that was bigger, more layered, and more meaningful than I ever expected. And that’s the path I’ve been walking ever since.

Elana Feuerman, LMSW's approach

Children are often telling us a story. When they refuse to sleep at night, when they push or hit other kids, when they cling to a parent at drop-off, when they escalate without warning, when they eat too much or hardly at all—these moments may seem like random behaviors, but they are anything but. The child is communicating something important, even if they do not yet have the words to express it.

My role is to listen closely and with curiosity. I make space for that story to emerge fully and safely in the playroom. Every behavior is an entry point, a clue, a piece of the emotional puzzle. My job is to understand the whole story, not just the part that shows up on the surface, and to hold it with compassion so the child can begin to make sense of their world.

What you can expect from sessions with Elana Feuerman, LMSW

Children are fast learners, and that’s one of the most powerful parts of play therapy. You get to witness change in real time. My approach to child therapy blends both non-directive and directive play. For example, if a child is struggling to assert herself in a large group, I might set up a classroom scene with dolls. Most children will play out the scenario with deep feeling—they place their anxiety or shame onto a doll, or sometimes onto me. Over time, as that child becomes more comfortable facing those “icky” emotions, the play shifts. And as the play changes, so do her actions in real life.

In another scenario, a child refuses to sleep alone in his room. I might place a doll inside a crib in the therapy room. When that child enters the space, he instinctively infuses the doll with some of his most intense feelings and fears. As we try to comfort the doll together, the child begins to reveal what is going on inside his own mind—what frightens him, confuses him, or makes him angry. These are things that would never surface through direct questioning. Sometimes, the simple act of expressing these internal experiences is enough for the child’s symptoms to fade. Other times, it opens the door for further intervention and support.

But the process does not end in the playroom. Whatever stories emerge through the child’s play, I bring those insights to the parents. Together, we weave this understanding into the family dynamic in a way that supports the child, their siblings, and the parent-child relationship as a whole.

My work with children happens in person, in the therapy room, or sometimes on the playground at school—especially when a child is navigating social challenges. With teens, the process looks different. I usually work remotely, and there is no running around the room to face fears. Instead, a teen sits with the weight of external pressures—fitting in, looking a certain way, getting the right grades—and starts to unpack them.

Many teens tell me that around age twelve, their thoughts started to get louder. Suddenly, they were filled with self-doubt, worry, and confusion. This is what I call losing their voice. Insecurity and shame begin to drown out their natural clarity. In our work together, we sit with these thoughts and feelings and learn how to challenge them with compassion. Over time, she starts to reconnect with her own perspective. She trusts her inner voice again and becomes less swayed by the expectations and opinions of others. That reconnection is where healing begins.

Elana Feuerman, LMSW's experience working with the Jewish community

Having grown up in the Orthodox Jewish community, I carry the culture, the pressures, the values, and the unspoken norms in my bones. I understand the nuance. The expectations. The tension between individuality and belonging. I bring that deep familiarity into every session, creating a space where clients do not have to explain the context—they can simply show up as they are.

My work within the Jewish school system has given me a unique dual perspective. As a former Hebrew teacher, I know what happens inside the classroom. As a therapist, I understand what happens inside the child. Bridging those two worlds—school and therapy—is often essential for a child’s growth. I collaborate closely with teachers and principals to help children and teens meet expectations in a way that supports their emotional well-being and allows them to truly thrive in school.

Elana Feuerman, LMSW's Book Recommendation Zone

• Good Inside
• How to talk so kids will listen
• Attached:The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love

Approaches

• Attachment-based
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
• Play Therapy
• Sand Tray
• Trauma Focused Therapy

Concerns

• Anxiety
• Bereavement & Grief
• Body image
• Divorce/Separation
• Emotion regulation
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Oppositional defiance disorder
• Panic attacks/panic disorder
• Parenting
• Selective Mutism
• Stress management
• Transitions & Change
• Trauma

3 years in practice

Licenses

• LMSW. License number 44SL06972500

Degrees

• Master's by Daemen College 2022

Trainings

• Advanced Trauma-Play 2024
• Foundational Trauma-Play 2024
• DBT Techniques for the Uncontrollable Child 2023
• Attachment Based Treatment- Trauma-Play 2023

Average costs per session

$200

Payment Methods

• Free consultation
• Zelle Quick Pay

Insurances

• out of network