About Elka Cubacub, LCSW
Elka Cubacub is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Arizona and Illinois, and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). She works with individuals, couples, and families through in-person sessions in Phoenix, telehealth across Arizona and Illinois, and coaching for clients worldwide. Her practice blends clinical rigor with embodied awareness, helping clients bridge the gap between understanding and living the change they seek.
My Story
There was a time when I sat in a therapist’s office in utter silence for the better portion of an hour-long session. The quiet thickened, my unease grew, and still, I had nothing to say. We had already identified the problem, discussed solutions, and explored my personal history, with little impact. I had run out of stories to tell.
Before I became a therapist, I was a teacher. Before that, a tutor. And perpetually, a student. When therapy didn’t offer what I had hoped for, I did what I knew best: I studied.
I read everything I could find on the human mind and the way we heal, and completed a bachelor's in psychology, and a master's in social work.
Alongside my studies, I volunteered for a crisis line, assisted group therapy at long-term residential, and then interned at a first episode psychosis program, then a substance use and eating disorder treatment center. I assisted with, then facilitated, group, family, and individual therapy.
And I discovered something that filled the gap I had felt in my own therapy and became central to how I now work with clients:
So much of what we experience extends beyond the thinking mind and into the body and subconscious.
Clients often come to me with some version of, “I know what I need to do, but I just can’t get myself to do it. I need to stop [fill in the blank] drinking, binge eating, obsessively worrying, or beating myself up for my failures. But something in me won’t let me change.”
In session, we get to know what that “something” is, how it evolved, and what it needs in order to let us live more fully. As we do, clients become more hopeful, less stuck, and better able to translate what they know intellectually to what they feel at a gut level.
My Approach & Values
I believe in the dictum, “Show me; don’t tell me.” I don’t give quick advice—you can find that on the internet. Instead, I guide you toward a deeper connection with your own inner wisdom: the parts that hold pain, power, and the capacity for growth. My work is relational and experiential, helping clients translate insight into embodied change.
I draw from mindfulness, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) frameworks that help clients cultivate awareness, flexibility, and compassion. I also integrate tools from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Brainspotting (Phase 1), and the Gottman Method for Couples (Levels 1 & 2). My graduate research on mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement for opioid misuse and chronic pain continues to inform how I blend evidence-based methods with body-based awareness in the healing process.
My approach will help you see tangible progress while feeling deeply understood.
Areas of Focus
I work primarily with adults navigating anxiety, depression, eating disorders, compulsive behaviors, addiction, psychosis, and relationship distress. I have a particular interest in helping individuals and couples bridge ideological or value-based divides, a theme that also shapes my work in the broader professional community.
Writing & Speaking
I am the author of Binge Eating Demystified and host of the podcast EDeology: The People Behind Today’s Eating Disorder Treatment Landscape. The show fosters thoughtful dialogue around complex issues in mental health and recovery—including food addiction, psychoanalysis, intentional weight loss, GLP-1 medications, and ideological diversity within treatment spaces.
My interest in dialogue across differences is personal. I grew up within a Jewish community deeply shaped by ideological divisions, and I’ve come to see how these fractures mirror the inner divides we all navigate. The capacity to stay open and engaged in the face of difference—whether that means differing viewpoints with others or opposing feelings within ourselves—remains one of the most powerful forms of healing I know.
Training & Credentials
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker – Arizona and Illinois
- Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy – Beginner & Advanced Training
- Brainspotting – Phase 1
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy – Levels 1 & 2
- BeST Center Training – Evidence-Based Practices for Schizophrenia Treatment
Location & Contact
Office: 16601 N. 40th St., Suite 216, Phoenix, Arizona 85032
Telehealth: Available statewide in Arizona and Illinois
Consultation: Schedule a free 15-minute call →