We are so glad to have you here!

Meet Our Director and Our Values

Child and Family Therapy Collective is a practice based in Nashville, TN offering in-person and telehealth and concierge care treatment formats.

We currently serve patients in these states: Tennessee, Mississippi

Eleanor Ezell, LCSW

Eleanor is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and the Founder and Clinical Director at Child and Family Therapy Collective. She is a native to Nashville, Tennessee. She attended the University of the South for undergrad and New York University for graduate training. She completed a two year Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship at The University of Mississippi Medical Center post-graduate. 

Her expertise includes working with children and teens with selective mutism, social anxiety, autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder with co-occurring developmental delays.

For 10+ years, she has been integral in developing and replicating selective mutism intensive treatment programs across the country in NY, CA and most recently in MS where she was personally grant funded to replicate and expand the PCIT-SM Intensive Model of treatment. She was the first to bring PCIT-SM to the state of Mississippi where she trained 12 local therapists (and 18 more from all over the world) in the PCIT-SM model under her grant at UMMC in conjunction with the Selective Mutism Training Institute via the Selective Mutism Association. Her career began 11 years ago under the direction of Dr. Steven Kurtz in New York, NY, who is still her mentor and dear friend.

Accomplishments in her early career have allowed her to work creatively to make strides for access to care in the southeast. Eleanor was the first to bring both PCIT-SM and TCIT to the state of Mississippi and she built two programs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for PCIT-SM and TCIT. She has fine-tuned her working model in treatment taking evidence-based care and joining it with family values work to optimize treatment outcomes that is reflective of the evidence base. Her approach is kind, direct and wholistic considering the whole patient and family to assist in growth and positive outcomes.

Eleanor loves to teach and is a therapist trainer in PCIT and PCIT-SM. She also is a trainer/coach in TCIT and CARE. Eleanor has trained over 50 clinicians in clinical protocols. She is at her best when she is in the collective experience with a family or trainee. Using this approach of collective information and perspectives allows access to creative learning for all.

In addition to Child and Family Therapy Collective, Eleanor runs our sister company, Eleanor Ezell Consulting, LLC where she trains, teaches and synthesizes her training for families with typically developing children. The Child & Family Learning Lab launched in 2022 to offer psychoeducational workshops to parents all over the world. All families deserve access to research and accessible resources from the experts. Find us on our website for workshops or on Instagram @growlittleminds where she collaborates with professionals across the world to teach and learn together.  

In her free time, Eleanor loves to keep active with cycling, hiking, yoga and gardening. She has a knack for DIY projects at home and enjoys the process of learning new skills She loves to connect with professionals across the world to increase connectivity and learning to optimize outcomes for children, everywhere, in addition to

License & Certifications

  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker | MS & TN

  • Parent-Child Interaction Therapy | Certified Therapist and Within Agency Trainer

  • PCIT-SM | Certified Therapist and Regional Trainer

  • SPACE Trained

  • TF-CBT Trained

Education

  • MSW | New York University

  • B.A., Psychology | University of the South

Professional Volunteer

  • Selective Mutism Association, Member Board of Directors

  • PCIT International, Chair of Continuing Education Task Force

 Our Values

Balance. Evidence. Integrity. Truth. Empowerment.

With our core values at the heart of this work, we use data driven evidence-based practices to inform clinical care as we work with you as part of your collective team. We believe that children deserve access to their childhood and it is our collective job to create opportunity and access for them to thrive. We are intentional in our treatments and are dedicated to helping you reach your goals. 

Evidence-based practice does not work unless balanced with both the integrity of the treatment and the truth of your own family values. As we work to bring children and teens access to their worlds, you, the caregiver, are at the center to balance and continue to deliver treatment at home. It is important that you feel equipped and empowered in this process. Our values are reflected in our work and we hope that you feel safe here to dive into treatment one step at a time.