Eliza values her relationships with the students and their families and seeks to create a non-judgmental environment that folks feel they can be authentic and vulnerable in.
Eliza Maas
MSW, CSW
Summit Therapist
CREDENTIALS
Master of Social Work, University of Vermont
Bachelor of Social Work
PHILOSOPHY
Eliza brings intentionality, empathy, and humor into her interactions with students and their families. Through a DBT, and strengths-based approach Eliza works to help young people and their families explore new patterns of interaction, appreciate their own strengths and resiliency, and get comfortable stepping into the vulnerable space of growth and accountability. Eliza values her relationships with the students and their families and seeks to create a non-judgmental environment that folks feel they can be authentic and vulnerable in.
Eliza recommends that parents read The Parallel Process by Krissy Pozatek, Parenting From The Inside Out by Dan Siegel, and Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach.
PROFESSIONAL
Eliza was drawn to social work during highschool, and has worked therapeutically with young children and adolescents ever since. Eliza obtained her Masters in Social Work from the University of Vermont, and during that time she worked as a social worker in the Pediatric Psychiatry Department of the University. This work solidified her interest in working with adolescents and mental health, and soon after Eliza moved to Utah to work in Wilderness Therapy, where she continued to work with adolescents struggling with their mental health. After working as a field staff Eliza shifted to the program’s clinical team, where she worked with non-neurotypical students as a group therapist and social skills psychoeducator. Eliza transitioned to Gateway Academy in 2023 and is happy to continue laughing and learning with teenagers and their families.
PERSONAL
In her free time Eliza can be found in the mountains, moving and learning- whether it’s skiing, running, camping or mountain-biking. When she is inside Eliza fills her time reading, baking bread, and sewing.
CREATING SUCCESS
Eliza has found that success with students stems from the relationship she builds with them, which she invests heavily in from the beginning. She treats the therapeutic relationship like a collaborative process, so that her clients can see and feel their autonomy in the work that they are doing. Eliza has worked with many clients who are resistant to the process, and has found success in this relational approach, and in meeting each client wherever they are at in their process of change.
"It is easy to love the nice things about ourselves, but true self-love is embracing the difficult parts that live in all of us." - Rupi Kaur