Today we’d like to introduce you to Eliana.
Hi Eliana, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been drawn to both psychology and art, though for a long time they existed as two separate parts of my life. I became a therapist and specialized in anxiety and OCD. I worked closely with clients and saw how complex and overwhelming these experiences can feel when they’re hard to put into words.
At the same time, I was creating surreal, symbolic drawings under the name “Otherworldly Ellie.” My work naturally explored inner emotional worlds, even before I connected it to my clinical work.
Over time, I started to see a bridge between the two. Many of the concepts I was explaining in therapy—like intrusive thoughts, anxiety cycles, OCD patterns and uncomfortable emotions—can be difficult to fully grasp through words alone. I realized that illustration could make these experiences more visible and more relatable.
That’s what led me to begin combining my two passions into illustrated, clinically grounded guides designed to make complex psychological concepts easier to understand. Today, my work sits at the intersection of therapy and art, with the goal of making mental health more accessible, human, and visually understood..
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road. One of the main challenges has been balancing the emotional demands of clinical work with the time and energy needed to build something creative alongside it. Therapy requires presence and consistency, which can leave limited space for creative work at the end of the day.
Another challenge has been navigating a path that doesn’t fit neatly into one category. I work as a therapist, but I also create surreal, psychologically driven artwork, and bringing those two worlds together hasn’t always felt straightforward. It took time to find a way to integrate them in a way that felt authentic and purposeful.
On a practical level, time has been a constant obstacle. Between sessions, administrative work, and daily responsibilities, creating consistently requires a lot of discipline.
At the same time, those challenges have shaped the direction of my work. They’ve pushed me to be more intentional and to create things that are not only expressive, but also meaningful and accessible to others.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Eliana Bonaguro, LMHC?
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor specializing in anxiety disorders, including OCD, panic disorder, and social anxiety. My work is grounded in evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). I help clients better understand their thoughts and change how they respond to them.
What sets my work apart is the integration of psychology and art. Alongside my clinical practice, I create surreal, psychologically driven artwork under the brand name name “Otherworldly Ellie.” Over time, I began combining these two worlds by developing illustrated guides that translate complex mental health concepts into something more visual, relatable, and easier to understand.
I am the author of Quieting the Noise: An Illustrated Guide to Living with OCD and Yesterday It Rained: An Illustrated Guide to Living with Anxiety, and I will soon be releasing a third illustrated guide focused on relationship OCD. These projects are designed to make therapy concepts accessible outside of sessions, helping people recognize their experiences, feel less alone, and learn practical tools they can apply in their daily lives.
Overall, my work is centered on making mental health more understandable, approachable, and human, whether through therapy or through creative expression.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something that might surprise people is that there’s a very different side to my work that exists outside of the clinical space. Under the name “Otherworldly Ellie,” my art shifts away from structured, solution-focused guides into something darker, more surreal, and sometimes intentionally unsettling.
While my illustrated guides are designed to make complex psychological concepts clear and approachable, my personal artwork explores the more ambiguous and uncomfortable sides of the human experience, the parts that don’t resolve neatly or offer clear answers.
It might seem like a contrast, but both come from the same place. One is about helping people navigate their inner world with clarity, and the other is about giving form to what often feels hard to name or understand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ellie-counseling.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliana_bonaguro_lmhc?igsh=MWx5c2kyMHIxY2FrZA==
