Elena Mansour

Happiness is an inside job. external achievement doesn't lead to inner peace and calm. rather it keeps us on the treadmill of life.

In my younger years, I focused on getting a solid education and have a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a minor in Psychology from Boston University and a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. Over the years, I worked as an administrator in the non-profit and local government sectors working on the issues of the unhoused, women’s shelters, and affordable housing. Then, after some significant challenges in my late-20s, I chose to spend a year volunteering at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA where I became a yoga teacher and received a certificate in Positive Psychology. It was at that time that my life started to change, as I dove deeply into the teachings of yoga philosophy and experienced a profound year of living at a retreat center.

Now, I have dedicated my life to practices that bring healing and inner peace such as counseling, yoga, time in nature, art, self-compassion, and meditation. I also returned to graduate school to get a second masters degree and specifically study how people heal. Towards that end, in 2022, I graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne University where I completed a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Since then, I completed my internship at Helpmate, a local non-profit in Asheville that focuses on domestic violence. Prior to starting my private practice, I also worked at a partial hospitalization program. I currently have an Associate counseling license and focus on trauma, depression, anxiety, PTSD, neurodivergence and other mental health concerns. I have also been exploring my own neurodivergence and piecing together how it has affected by life thus far.

I live in Asheville, NC where I enjoy the beautiful mountain air and thriving arts community. I enjoy traveling and spending time with my large extended family. My travels have taken me on the Holistic Holiday at Sea cruise, to the Hippocrates Health Institute, to the Esalen Institute, to Sivananda Ashrams in India and the Bahamas, the Omega Institute, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland and to 36 different countries and 35 different states in the USA. I enjoy meeting people from around the world and learning about their country’s culture, history, food, and language.