About

Elise Geltman, LCSW (CA # 27710) is a psychoanalytic social worker in private practice in Oakland, CA. She engages in psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, clinical and organizational consultation, and teaching. Elise is the current President of the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, a member of the Race Working Group, and on the Community Psychoanalysis Track (CPT) Steering Committee. Elise also continues her work in community mental health at the Westcoast Children’s Clinic as a consultant and trainer. 

Elise has 19 years of experience working within community-based mental health settings and 14 years of experience as an active member of the Bay Area analytic community including supervising, teaching, and presenting at the Northern California Society for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (NCSPP), the Access Institute, the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis - Coalition for Clinical Social Work (SFCP - CCSW),  PINC, NYU Post Doc, and the University of Berkeley - Health & Human Rights Clinic. Elise also studies and engages in group relations work (with GREX, A.K. Rice, and CSGSS) when possible and is committed to group process work. 

Elise has always been interested in people in context, situation, and relation. First, as an undergraduate at New College (Florida), she earned an interdisciplinary B.A. that explored the intersections and overlaps between Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology, and Literature. Then, she was exposed to psychodynamic thinking at Smith College and obtained her Master of Social Work. For her Master’s thesis, she studied racial bias and inequity in “systems of care” service delivery. Later, Elise went on to SFCP’s PPTP program to test her interest and commitment to psychoanalysis before entering analytic training at PINC. Elise was drawn to PINC for a few key reasons, one of them being the emergent CPT program combining formal analytic training with community clinics and organizations. She became a graduated psychoanalyst from PINC in 2024 and is the second PINC graduate to have a CPT case as one of her formal analytic training cases.