Ellen Converse

Ellen Converse (she/her) is a Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology at the PAU–Stanford Psy.D. Consortium, training under the supervision of Dr. Yehsong Kim, Ph.D., and Dr. Julia Brit, Psy.D. She is dedicated to creating an affirming and welcoming space where patients feel supported in working toward their goals.

Ellen has specialized training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and thoughtfully integrates approaches from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) when appropriate. Drawing on her clinical and research work at Stanford, she has particular expertise in anxiety and the role of perfectionism in maintaining distress. Her clinical experiences encompass behavioral medicine in hospital settings, LGBTQ+ affirmative-care with individuals and couples, and working with adults navigating co-occurring mental and physical illness, eating disorders and body image concerns, and sleep disorders. She is engaged in interdisciplinary research on AI-augmented psychotherapy training in collaboration with the Stanford Department of Computer Science, and she conducts additional research on perfectionism, anxiety, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

Ellen’s therapeutic style is patient-centered, curious, and collaborative. She values humor and authenticity in the therapy room and works alongside clients to develop their unique strengths, cultivate self-understanding and compassion, and work towards meaningful change.

Ellen holds an M.S. in Clinical Psychology from the PAU-Stanford PsyD Consortium and a B.A. in Psychology with Honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.