ST. LOUIS — You’ve seen him on Show Me St. Louis. You’ve probably seen him on Instagram.
His name is Elliott Connie. The psychotherapist has a world-wide following. They call him the friend of solutions.
"I think the reason people refer to me those things is I've become the biggest advocate for this thing called solution focused brief therapy. Like solution focused. Brief therapy was like a small little niche of the field of psychotherapy. When I came to learn about this all the way back in like 2005 and now it's one of the most well-known approaches," Connie said.
According to the Institute for Solutions Focused Therapy, the approach is an emotion eliciting, future-oriented vehicle for formulating, motivating, achieving, and sustaining desired behavioral change.
Elliott is a leading voice in the field of Solution Focused Brief Therapy. But he did not get here without struggle.
Connie was born in Chicago, raised in Boston, and Elliot says it was a less than ideal upbringing, "But I came out of that with I had a moment where I realized that hope was the most powerful thing in the world. I had a moment, literally moment. I was laying in my dorm room when I realized that hope for a different future gives you strength and resilience and the ability to dream. And if you have the ability to dream, then you have the ability to accomplish that dream," he explained.
And Elliot’s dream? Well it’s coming true.
An unscripted, yet-to-be-titled television series is in development with Emmy-award-winning actress, Tiffany Haddish as executive producer in partnership with Hearst Media Group.
"I probably can't give to too many details, but what I can say, if you want to watch television that is entertaining and inspiring, like my goal is, is to create television content that makes people really believe in themselves and really believe in their ability to achieve whatever it is they want," Connie says.
It’s a testament to the power of Elliott’s message. If he can do it, so can you.
I asked Elliott what piece of advice he would share with with a young person in St. Louis that hears his story and resonates with it.
He went onto say, "I'd tell them, have the courage to dream and have the passion to pursue it and understand that someone is going to like everything I've ever accomplished in my life. I've written books, I've traveled the world, I've I'm working on TV projects. Like all the things, there was someone in my life to tell me why I couldn't do what I was trying to do. So have the courage to dream and understand someone's going to show up and tell you why you can't do what you're doing. But they're lying."
We can't wait to see more from Elliott Connie.
For more inforamtion, visit elliottconnie.com or follow along on Instagram @elliottspeaks.
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