ABOUT ME

I joined the mental health field in a somewhat unconventional way. After coming out as the first openly transgender musician in a major orchestra on the American continents (the San Francisco Symphony) in 2017 and in light of ongoing social battles for human dignity, I've decided to pursue my long-time passion for equity and liberation-focused mental health.

Since then, I've built on my graduate training from Columbia University and clinical and research experiences serving LGTBQ+, BIPOC, multicultural/immigrant, HIV+, kink, poly, and (dis)abilities communities at the University of California, San Francisco, and several non-profits in the Bay Area.

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MY CREDENTIALS

EDUCATION

CA Registered Associate Clinical Social Worker # 115666
Master of Science in Social Work, Columbia University
EMDR training, EMDR Institute (in progress)
Certification in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, Alchemy Community Therapy Center
Motivational Interviewing Intensive, Columbia University
Healing-Centered Engagement Practitioner, Flourish Agenda
Psychological First Aid Certificate, John Hopkins University
Post-Baccalaureate in Psychology and Counseling, University of California, Berkeley Extension

CURRENT WORK

San Francisco Counseling Collective, with supervision and guidance from Bart Shulman (he/him), CA Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor # 4199

Flower of Life Therapy, with support and supervision from Elizabeth “Davi” Pettit (they/them), CA Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist # 110471

Axis Mundi Center for Mental Health, with care and supervision from Elysha “Lacy” Martinez

(she/her), CA Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist # 93493.

RESEARCH

Over the last several years, I've been fortunate to author and co-author several publications to better understand the experiences and advocate with intersectional LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and kink/BDSM communities. I’m grateful to have collaborated as a researcher with Dr. Annesa Flenje’s Sexual and Gender Minority Health Equity Lab at the University of California San Francisco and The PRIDE Study (Stanford/UCSF consortium), as well as with Dr. Richard Sprott’s CARAS Project.

Lev, E., Edwards, W., Cohen, J., & Flentje, A. (2022) Counteracting Stigmatizing Diagnoses in the DSM-5 (2022). Social Work Today, 22(2): https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/Spring22p30.shtml

Edwards, W., Lev, E., Obedin-Maliver, J., Lunn, M., Lubensky, M., Capriotti, M., Garrett-Walker, J., & Flentje, A. (2023) Our pride, our joy: An intersectional constructivist grounded theory analysis of resources that promote resilience in Sexual and Gender Minority communities. PLOS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280787

Clark, K., Lunn, M., Lev, E., Trujillo, M., Lubensky, M., Capriotti, M., Hoffmann, T., Obedin-Maliver, J., & Flentje, A. (2022). State-Level Policy Environments, Discrimination, and Victimization among Sexual and Gender Minority People. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(16), 9916. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169916

Vivid, J., Lev, E., Sprott, R. (2020). The Structure of Kink Identity: Four Key Themes Within a World of Complexity. Journal of Positive Sexuality. 6. 75-85. DOI: 10.51681/1.623.

Lev, E., Vivid, J. (2020, February 21-23). Seven Dimensions of Kink: Data from the Kink Identity and Sexuality Study (KISS) Project. Positive Sexuality Conference, Burbank, CA (Winner of the Student Research Award)

VOLUNTEER

Social justice advocacy and service have been really important to me. Here are a few highlights:

International Rescue Committee (IRC) as a Community Engagement Volunteer (putting together a database of LGBTQ+ affirming resources for Spanish-speaking people arriving in the U.S. on asylum)

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in a variety of roles

Chung for College Board 2022 (to elect the first non-binary trustee for the City College San Francisco)
National LGBT Help Center as a volunteer counselor and resource coordinator
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Alliance Health Project (as a group facilitator), No One Dies Alone (NODA) as a companion to people going through the dying process, and Benioff Children's Hospital as an education support volunteer