Elissa Stein founded The Riverwalk Group with a simple but powerful belief: meaningful healing happens in relationships that are thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply human.
After more than fifteen years in solo private practice, Elissa began to imagine a different kind of clinical environment—one where talented therapists could work together, share perspectives, and integrate diverse, evidence based approaches to offer clients the most thoughtful care possible. The Riverwalk Group, opened in 2015, grew out of that vision: a boutique practice designed to provide deeply personalized, integrative psychotherapy.
Elissa is a licensed psychotherapist in Connecticut and New York who works with individuals, couples, and families. At the center of her work is the belief that each person holds an innate capacity for growth, healing, and meaningful change. She helps clients better understand themselves, their relationships, and the patterns that shape their lives so they can move forward with greater clarity, authenticity, and balance.
Her work focuses on helping people reconnect with their own intuition and inner wisdom. Drawing on more than twenty years of clinical experience and advanced training, Elissa offers insight, practical tools, and compassionate support as clients navigate life’s challenges. She believes therapy works best as a genuine partnership—built on trust, curiosity, respect, and sometimes a much-needed sense of humor.
Elissa’s clinical style is integrative, warm, and direct. Her work draws from Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, trauma-informed therapy, and family systems approaches. She has completed advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Mindful Self-Compassion, IFIO (Intimacy from the Inside Out), and has attended trainings and lectures with leading clinicians including Terry Real, Janina Fisher, Esther Perel, and Sue Johnson.
Elissa completed her graduate studies at New York University in Special Education and Applied Psychology and received advanced clinical training at The Family Institute of Westchester. She later completed certification in Integrative Trauma through the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy.
Outside of her clinical work, Elissa can often be found hiking with her dog Yoda, growing dahlias, cooking for family and friends, or collecting heart-shaped rocks in her travels . She believes deeply in the healing power of curiosity, connection, and a really good belly laugh.