Dr. Elle Kirsten, PhD

Elle Kirsten is originally from South Africa (always a Springbok!) but she grew up in Hong Kong and currently resides in New York City (since 2011) with her wife and two dogs. She completed her PhD in relational frame theory (RFT; Psychology) at the National University of Ireland, Galway; her MSc in Psychology (applied behavior analysis) at the University of Auckland; and her HonsBSc in Psychology at the University of Toronto. Elle has been working with children since 2002 and is a Board Certified and New York State Licensed Behavior Analyst (BCBA; LBA). Her research and clinical interests are in testing and training meaningful and functional language (RFT), and in helping children get ‘unstuck’ from their thoughts so they can find meaning and joy in their lives (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, ACT). Elle has presented her clinical work and academic research at numerous conferences, and she has published several articles and book chapters about RFT and complex language development. 

Elle loves animals (especially dogs), water skiing/wakeboarding, surfing, snow skiing, MMA, Muppets, and walking in forests, jungles, and flowery gardens.