Meet Eliana

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eliana a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eliana, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I think resilience, for me, has always come from turning pain into creation.
Putting thoughts into art has helped me survive some of the most difficult times. When I put a feeling onto paper — whether through a surreal figure or a quiet metaphor — it becomes something I can see, name, and eventually understand. As a therapist, I teach my clients that emotion loses its power when we can observe it with curiosity instead of fear. As an artist, I do the same with ink and light.
My resilience comes from the belief that meaning can coexist with discomfort — that sadness, anxiety, or uncertainty can all be shaped into something beautiful and instructive. Every drawing, every story, is proof that even the hardest emotions can evolve into connection if we’re willing to look at them with compassion.
Art is not just a hobby for me; it’s a form of mindfulness and opportunity for reflection — a way of translating chaos into clarity. That process, repeated over years, is where I find my strength.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a healer by day and a dreamer by night.
As Eliana Bonaguro, LMHC, I’m a licensed mental health counselor and author of the illustrated books Yesterday It Rained: An Illustrated Guide to Living with Anxiety and Quieting the Noise: A Visual Guide to Living with OCD. I specialize in treating anxiety disorders, OCD, perfectionism, and the depression that often accompanies them. My approach is rooted in evidence-based therapy — CBT, ERP, and mindfulness — but grounded in compassion and creativity.
Over time, I found that visuals could make even the most complex psychological concepts easier to understand. My books and psychoeducational guides use imagery and metaphor to help readers grasp ideas like intrusive thoughts, uncertainty, and self-criticism in a way that feels human and hopeful. My mission as a therapist and author is to make mental health education both accessible and emotionally resonant — to remove stigma and help people feel less alone in what they experience.
A year ago, I also founded Otherworldly Ellie, my surreal, gothic-inspired art brand. Through it, I create narrative-driven imagery that explores the depths of human emotion — pieces that validate sadness, longing, and vulnerability while celebrating resilience and imagination.
Though my roles as therapist and artist remain distinct, they share the same heart: both turn pain into meaning and invite others to see beauty in what once felt broken.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, the qualities that have shaped my journey most are resilience, creativity, and empathy.
Resilience carried me through the years it took to become licensed in both New York and Florida. Finishing graduate school while living in New York City wasn’t easy — it demanded structure, long hours, and a belief that the work would matter one day. The same determination helped me keep creating art when nobody seemed to notice it. For a long time, my drawings felt invisible until I found a wonderful, supportive community on Instagram that connected with them on a deep emotional level.
Creativity has always been my bridge between psychology and art. It’s what allows me to turn evidence-based therapy concepts into images and stories that make mental health feel human and relatable. I’d tell anyone early in their journey: protect your creativity fiercely — it’s your way of making meaning.
And empathy — both learned and lived — shapes everything I do. It reminds me that healing and art aren’t about perfection but connection. To those just starting out, remember: your path won’t always look linear, but if it’s guided by compassion, it will always be meaningful.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

If I only had a decade left to live, I don’t think I’d change much about how I spend my days. I already try to appreciate every moment life offers me — the quiet ones, the creative ones, and even the difficult ones that teach me something.
I’d continue doing what I love most: creating art that speaks to emotion and helping people heal. My work as a therapist and my life as an artist both give me purpose, and I can’t imagine separating the two. Maybe I’d create even more art — bolder, more personal, less filtered — and continue supporting others in their own journeys toward understanding and self-compassion.
If I knew time was limited, I’d still wake up to draw, to listen, to connect. Because that’s what makes life meaningful to me — not the number of years, but how fully you inhabit them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.ellie-counseling.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otherworldly_ellie?igsh=MTA0amNqY2ZlbGo3Mw==
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliana-bonaguro-683607a

Image Credits

All photos were taken or are owned by me, and I certify that I have full rights and permission to use them