Elisabeth is a survivor of family-controlled child sex trafficking and abuse.  Her encounters with domestic violence and incest began when she was two years old.  After years of familial sexual abuse, her father started selling her to make extra money.  Through her bravery and resilience, she was able to survive and leave home at 18, but not without physical and psychological repercussions.  She was 36 when her first repressed memory was recovered.  She has spent the past eight years recovering from her childhood experiences and earning her master’s degree in social work (MSW), while parenting two small children.

Elisabeth writes about the biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of recovery from complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD) and dissociation on her blog at BeatingTrauma.com  She intimately discusses issues that affect the daily lives of survivors, including breaking the cycle of abuse through conscious parenting, navigating intimate relationships as a survivor, balancing the memory recovery process with daily life, coping with self-doubt and overcoming the physical symptoms of a traumatic childhood.

She uses her corporate experience in program management, training, finance and information technology, her education in social work and her personal experiences as a sex trafficking and abuse survivor to generate awareness about sexual violence and complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

As an advocate, she has four goals:

1) She educates about the holistic impacts of complex trauma and dissociation through her blog and book. Her message focuses on the need for deep inner parts work and practicing awareness on a daily basis.

2) She provides coaching through 1-on-1 programs with trauma clients, virtual groups to build awareness and email workshops. She works with survivors who are struggling to overcome the trauma intrusions and parents with complex trauma who are trying to break the cycle. 

3) She trains therapists and other recovery helpers on the holistic impact of complex trauma. She focuses on the importance of self-awareness and the use of trauma as a source of connection instead of separation. 

4) She raises awareness of familial abuse and trafficking through legislative advocacy, news interviews, conference presentations and published writings. She has been featured on PBS, The Huffington Post and PsychCentral.