Biography
Dr. Eliana Gil is Director of Clinical Services for Childhelp, Inc. Her office is located at Childhelp Children's Services of Virginia in Fairfax, Virginia (CCCV). She is developing a child abuse and neglect treatment program which provides specialized services to children and their families. Our current core group consists of Eliana Gil, Ph.D., Maria Ines Butler, LCSW, Nicole Jalazo, LCSW and Dr. Georgianna Achilles. We have three bilingual staff in Spanish and English (Dr. Gil, Maria Butler and Myriam Goldin, LCSW, who works with us part-time). We also have a few Master's level interns (Michelle Ayers, Jennifer Shaw, and Malvolia Gregory who work under Dr. Gil's supervision...in March 2008 we are happy and proud to be joined by Azi Amirsadri).
Dr. Gil spent the last seven years as founder and coordinator of an abused children’s treatment program in Northern Virginia. She is a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor, Registered Art Therapist, and a licensed Marriage, Family, Child Counselor who received her doctorate in family therapy from the California Graduate School of Family Psychology in San Rafael, California. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse. She is also former President of the Association for Play Therapy. Dr. Gil was an adjunct faculty member of Virginia Tech's family therapy program for over ten years and has also taught classes at several local universities.
Dr. Gil has written numerous materials on child abuse and related topics and has a number of educational videotapes that feature her work. Her most recent book for a professional audience is Helping abused and traumatized children: Integrating directive and nondirective approaches. Other books include Cultural issues in play therapy (with Dr. Athena Drewes); Treating abused adolescents; Systemic Treatment of Families who Abuse; The healing power of play; Play in family therapy; and Sexualized children: Assessment and treatment of sexualized children and children who molest (with Dr. Toni Cavanagh Johnson). She has also written several popular books for lay audiences including Outgrowing the Pain and Outgrowing the Pain Together. Several of her books are in other languages, including Spanish.
Dr. Gil is a well-known lecturer, author, and clinician and has been a frequent guest on local and national TV and radio shows. She is bilingual and bicultural, originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador. This year (2008) marks thirty five years that she has worked in child abuse prevention and treatment.