Elizabeth Manders

I love working creatively with kids, teens, and families to help your kids work through tough emotions, build stronger connections, and be their best selves.

As a parent you want your child to feel happy, but challenges can feel overwhelming at times. I am here to engage your children in therapy in a fun way using creativity, movement, and play to help children and families build emotional resilience, strengthen social connections, improve communication, and find joy. My specialty is working with neurodiverse kids, teens, and families. You can see pictures and find out more at my website creativespectrumcounseling.com

I’m Liesbet Manders, PhD, LPC, BC-DMT, a licensed professional counselor with specialized training in dance/movement therapy. While my official name is Elizabeth, I go by Liesbet. My journey has included working with autistic kids of all ages in groups, individual sessions, in therapy centers and across school and home environments. In addition to my work as a therapist, I have done research to study therapy and have taught dance/movement therapy and somatic counseling to Masters students. I graduated with a Masters in dance/movement therapy and a minor in counseling from Antioch New England Graduate School in 2005, and later earned my PhD in Creative Arts Therapy from Drexel University in 2016.

Using movement, play, and creative arts activities, I create a supportive space where therapy isn’t intimidating, but engaging. I help children express themselves in new ways, work with their emotions, and find joy in social engagement. Parents will be invited to talk about their goals for the family and see what happens when they role play changes. With less verbal children, we will look at your movement styles to strengthen nonverbal communication and understanding. This playful approach helps children and families not only talk about their struggles, but also try out new ways of coping, healing, and thriving.

See creativespectrumcounseling.com for pictures and more details.

We will start with a consultation call to share what you are looking for and what I can offer your family or your child. After that, we will have an introductory session in which you will get to experience some of my playful methods while I learn more about your child or family. We will talk about the goals you have for therapy and explore what it feels like in your family right now. With a playroom with a padded floor and a second room with a couch and a one-way-mirror, we can start where everyone in the family feels comfortable and explore the work of change through play from there.