Dr. Elizabeth Ibsen

Betsy Ibsen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor with over 40 years of working in both the mental health and addiction fields. She has treated adolescents and adults in outpatient, inpatient, and long-term residential settings. Betsy has studied how the effects of early childhood trauma have caused both physical and emotional effects on adults. What has impressed her the most over the years is that the human mind is creative, complex, and, above all, flexible. With appropriate treatment and life changes, people can heal, move forward, relearn old skills, develop new ones, rebuild support systems, or discover a network unique to their specific needs. Therapeutic tools and strategies will depend on where the client is on their life journey. She has two tenets of her philosophy that focus her work with clients: "Life is not fair," and "There is never enough time." Betsy completed her master's degree in Social Work at Boston University and lived in …Boston for 20 years before relocating to Connecticut and the greater Hartford area. She also worked as a kindergarten teacher in Italy for a year, spent two summers camping in the Soviet Union, and embraces multiculturalism as a way to connect with, recognize, and respect the strengths and needs of people with differing customs and beliefs. Treatment is only as good as the relationship developed with the client. Life doesn’t much resemble a Hallmark movie with things falling into perfect place at the end of two hours. It’s messier and more random, and at times unpleasantly chaotic. Recognizing that you need some sense of order, safety, and calmness is the first step. Asking for help is the second. Betsy can offer you the space to start this personal journey, to process what is and isn't working for you and why, what belongs to someone else, and what needs to be given away. Who doesn’t want to feel better?