A significant portion of the Blueprint team are licensed mental health professionals, helping develop , creating our digital library of resources, and ensuring that everything we make meets and exceeds the highest clinical standards. This issue, we’re highlighting some of these therapists, starting with Elyse Samuels, LCSW.

In addition to being a private practice clinician, Elyse works as a therapist advocate: helping onboarding and championing therapist needs, and supporting clinical content. We chatted with her about her unconventional path to becoming a mental health clinician, finding work-life boundaries, guidance for new therapists, ways to ground between sessions, and underrated clinical skills. Take a look at our full interview below. 

What’s something that people might be surprised to learn about you?

I went to school for finance initially. I was the only person in my grad school MSW program that didn't have a psychology social work background. I worked for two years at an investment consulting firm in DC before moving. It was not the traditional path, but it worked out perfectly.

Can you share your journey to becoming a therapist? What drew you to the profession?

I never set out thinking, "I want to be a therapist." It was more of a step-by-step process. I started out in finance and did a lot of volunteer work during undergrad, but I always saw that as something I’d do on the side—not as a career path. After college, I was working in D.C. and feeling unfulfilled. I reached out to an old professor, and he encouraged me to revisit volunteer work. That led me to an AmeriCorps opportunity at Cristo Rey High School in Boston, which turned out to be a turning point.

I worked for a year as a volunteer, organizing service and community-building events for students. I loved the relationships I built and the trust students placed in me, but I often felt underprepared when they shared difficult experiences from their lives. I realized I wanted to do more than just listen—I wanted to be equipped to support them in real, meaningful ways.That led me to explore social work, and I ultimately pursued my MSW in Clinical Social Work at Boston College. 

A big part of this path is also shaped by my upbringing and my family. My parents have always emphasized the importance of giving back and advocating for those whose voices aren’t always heard. I was raised to believe in creating a more just and compassionate world, and I knew I wanted a career that reflected those values.

While we often talk about the importance of boundaries, actually living them and making them a priority is a different challenge. This work is emotionally demanding, and many therapists are thrust into it without enough preparation for that part of the role.

If you could offer one piece of wisdom to newer therapists, what would it be?

As you’re beginning your career, don’t think that you need to know everything when you don't yet know anything. Really lean on supervisors and colleagues and ask questions when cases get hard, because there are really intense moments of this role.

It’s so important to have a support system around you that you can really, authentically share, "I don't know what to do next to help. How do I respond to this? Where can I go for a resource or training or support?" I was lucky that I stepped into roles where I had really good supervisors who always watched out for me. I feel like it helped me put boundaries in place when I didn't know how to put them in place for myself. 

Boundaries are essential, and learning how to set and maintain them takes time. When I was just starting out, I carried so much of what I heard in sessions home with me—it really weighed on me during those first few years. While we often talk about the importance of boundaries, actually living them and making them a priority is a different challenge. This work is emotionally demanding, and many therapists are thrust into it without enough preparation for that part of the role.

Do you have a daily ritual or habit that grounds you before seeing clients or between sessions?

To start the day, I just make sure I have coffee with me, and take some deep breaths.

I also love spending time outside with my plants—caring for my roses and all the vegetables I’m trying to grow. Even if I only have 10 minutes between meetings, I’ll step outside to water, fertilize, or snap a photo of whatever’s blooming. There’s something incredibly grounding about being in the dirt, connected to the earth, and witnessing things grow. It still amazes me that something so vibrant and alive can come from just a tiny seed—it feels like magic every time. 

I really live by my calendar—it keeps me grounded and helps me protect my time.

What’s one underrated or overlooked therapeutic skill you think more clinicians should focus on?

I’m not sure it’s underrated—because we do talk about it a lot—but the importance of building rapport and a strong therapeutic alliance at the start of care can’t be overstated. There's a wealth of research showing that clients tend to improve more quickly when they feel connected to and genuinely trusted by their therapist. Without that foundation of safety and trust, clients are much less likely to bring the harder, more vulnerable parts of their experience into the room. For me, that’s the most important part—making sure they feel safe, seen, and supported from the very beginning.

The challenge is that insurance doesn’t always recognize or reimburse for time spent purely on relationship-building. That’s one reason I appreciate what we do at Blueprint—it helps capture meaningful moments in care that therapists might otherwise struggle to justify as “billable interventions.” In that way, our platform really supports therapists in getting credit for the relational work that is foundational to effective therapy.

What do you do to take care of your own mental and emotional well-being?

 I spend time with my kids, who are an automatic refocus. My kids are such a great reminder of what’s the most important thing to me, and everything else comes second. 

And then also having my own support network, hanging out with friends and doing things socially with friends outside of work, is important. And then just having a blend of different things: I love gardening and being outside. Sometimes it’s just watching TV or reading a book and relaxing. Sometimes it’s being more active. Sometimes it’s being on social media or totally getting off social media. So I think it varies from week to week. I delete all social media frequently because it becomes very noisy and more stress-inducing. It varies on the day, the week, the season of life. These last nine months will look so different than what the next nine look like, but it flows with what the particular things I do are. Your needs shift. So, of course, your activities are going to shift as well. 

It’s so important to have a support system around you that you can really, authentically share, "I don't know what to do next to help. How do I respond to this? Where can I go for a resource or training or support?" I was lucky that I stepped into roles where I had really good supervisors who always watched out for me. I feel like it helped me put boundaries in place when I didn't know how to put them in place for myself. 

How do you set boundaries around your time, especially with client communication or documentation?

With clients specifically, in the beginning setting up communication procedures is important. I’ve chosen not to take on high-risk clients or certain presentations just because I know it requires more in-between session work that I personally can’t manage at this time with kids and a full-time role outside of my practice. So, I think it’s being selective about what I can take on at this stage in my life and career.  

I really live by my calendar—it keeps me grounded and helps me protect my time. I block out everything, whether it's a client session or a doctor’s appointment. During those times, my Slack status lets people know I’m unavailable, even if it’s just for an hour. I know that’s a privilege—not everyone has a flexible, supportive work environment where setting those boundaries is respected. I’m genuinely grateful to be in a role that not only allows for that kind of structure but encourages it. It makes a huge difference.

How do you maintain a sense of meaning and motivation in your work over time?

I work with kids in therapy, but a significant part of my private practice has evolved to focus on supporting women navigating postpartum and infertility challenges. That work is deeply personal for me—when I went through my own fertility journey, I felt completely alone. I didn’t know anyone else going through IVF, and the isolation was intense. That experience has become a driving force behind the work I do now. I feel genuinely honored when women choose to share their stories with me during such a vulnerable time. It’s a fragile season of life, and being trusted to walk alongside someone through it is incredibly motivating and meaningful.

I also wear a lot of different hats in my role. I’m not seeing 40 clients a week—so while I still have that client-facing piece as part of my role,, I’m also involved in a range of other work. At Blueprint, I get to connect with therapists, hear firsthand how much they love using the product, and how it’s saving them time and energy. That’s hugely motivating for me—to not only witness the impact of the work but to contribute to improving the product and making sure therapists’ voices are heard in the conversations we’re having every day behind the scenes.