My name is Elizabeth (Liz) Steering Burba, and I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the state of Kentucky.

I received my Master’s degree in Family Sciences with an Emphasis in Couple and Family Therapy from the University of Kentucky in 2023. I am deeply passionate about the work that I do. It is such an honor to be welcomed in to people’s lives, bear witness to their experience, and help them write the next chapter of their story.

Prior to my clinical work, I spent years in the non-profit sector in roles that provided programming and resources to underserved youth from international, immigrant, and refugee populations. I am a RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) who served 27 months in a rural village in the south of Thailand where I worked with the local government and schools to provide youth development programming to Thai children and teens.

I have experience providing effective therapy services to adults and children of all backgrounds and ages, but there are specific populations that I specialize in treating -

Pre-Teens and Teenagers - My approach to treating teenagers relies on a delicate balance between honoring their humanity, intellect, and agency, while also highlighting the importance of integrity, leadership skills, and personal accountability. I prioritize the intentional development of strong self-esteem as the single most important factor in maturity, personal growth, and behavior change. When working with teens, I always try to target the entire family system by involving family members as-needed, and urging each individual to recognize how they may unintentionally contribute to unhealthy cycles or relationship dynamics within the family.

Individuals, Couples, or Families with Special Needs or Neurodivergent Children - My older brother has severe cognitive/developmental differences, and being his protector and advocate was a part of my identity from the moment I was born. At 38 years old, my parents still brush his teeth and help him shower every night. He still has behavioral outbursts and emotional meltdowns. Growing up, these regularly took place in public while out and about with our family. I truly get it. I understand the joys, the blessings, the lessons, the guilt, the burden, the worry, the fear, the shame, and the anxiety. I get all of it, and I will make space for all of it in our work together.

High Conflict Monogamous Couples - I am skilled at working with couples who are high conflict, in distress, or otherwise struggling to effectively communicate and understand one another. I rely on the principles of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which is widely considered one of the most rigorously validated and successful approaches for high-conflict couples available today. I also incorporate family therapy concepts in to my work with couples by dedicating one of our first appointments to doing a joint “Family-of-Origin Deep Dive”, in which we explore the intergenerational patterns and relationship dynamics that are either directly or indirectly influencing your unique perspectives and approach to communication. Through the cultivation of trust and the triage of unhealed attachment wounds, I am able to move couples from feeling stuck, unstable, or distant, to feeling close, connected, and secure.

High Functioning Young Adults - I am highly effective at helping young adults navigate feelings of overwhelm, burnout, imposter syndrome, anxiety, and insecurity. I specialize in helping young adults who have either been diagnosed with ADHD, or who suspect they may have ADHD, to understand the impact that neurodivergence has on their past, present, and future. I am able to help strengthen self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-advocacy by adding important context and making clear connections to formative childhood and family-of-origin experiences. Our 20’s and 30’s are some of the most intense, emotional, transformative, confusing, and overwhelming years in the entire human life cycle. You don’t have to go it alone.

Some of my favorite therapy models include - Family Reunification Therapy, Satir Transformative Systemic Therapy (STST), Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT), Structural Family Therapy, Contextual Family Therapy, Systemic Family Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and more!