Elizabeth E. Sumner Ballantyne, MFT

Marriage & Family Therapist

Ms. Elizabeth E. Sumner Ballantyne is a Marriage & Family Therapist in Santa Cruz, CA with special training and skill in interviewing and diagnosing clients, then counseling them and treating any mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage and family. As a Marriage & Family Therapist, Elizabeth E. Sumner Ballantyne, MFT performs counseling and emotional support to help families navigate relationship and behavioral issues, while seeking to secure a long-term solution to mental and emotional disorders and a wide variety of relationship issues. Marriage & Family Therapy is the modification of perceptions and behavior, as well as improvement of communication among spouses and family members in crisis. Significant diseases and conditions treated by Marriage & Family Therapists include marital conflict, dysfunctional behavior, communication issues, and mental illness. Medical tests, procedures and therapies provided by Marriage & Family Therapists include interviewing, observing, counseling, and customizing treatment plans for clients in marriages and families.

A marriage and family therapist is a person with a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, or a master's or doctoral degree in a related mental health field with substantially equivalent coursework in marriage and family therapy, who receives supervised clinical experience, or a person who meets the state requirements to practice as a marriage and family therapist. A marriage and family therapist treats mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage and family systems. A marriage and family therapist provides mental health and counseling services to individuals, couples, families, and groups.