Organizational Psychologist, Lifestyle Manager, and Creative Thinker
And that’s only the beginning…
Welcome to My Website
My name is Victoria Elliot and I am a life-long psychologist. I studied clinical psychology at San Francisco State University in the 1960s, a time when almost all major universities were teaching behaviorism, thanks to BF Skinner at Harvard.
Teaching a pigeon to play ping-pong was not my interest; rather, I wanted to know what makes people tick on a deeper level. Clinical psychology was more concerned with the unconscious mind and motivations rather than the behavioral concept of everything being a conditioned response. LSD was still legal until 1968, and nearly all psychology departments were studying its effects. I took LSD twice under control circumstances to understand the issues of Huxley's "the doors of perception".
I stayed at San Francisco State University for graduate school in rehabilitation counseling specializing in mental health and mental illness. I spent a year completing the Stanford University residency at the Palo Alto VA. The psychology on this ward was for veterans of World War I, II, Korea, and Vietnam who ran a business to keep the men involved in the work world as they dealt with various mental health issues. Solving practical problems while facing one's demons went hand-in-hand.
The Early Years
My first professional job at 27, was as Director of Dembridge House, in Chiselhurst, Kent. It was a community that consisted of 10 men and 10 women from mental hospitals in the greater London area. There was a staff of four and two to three Anglican or Catholic nuns and priests in training for psychological problems they faced in their parishes. The house was large enough for 28 people in an upscale neighborhood. The purpose of the community and my work was to get people back functioning in the real world of work and life. The pragmatic philosophy was to deal with various levels of craziness while running a cooperative group living situation. "It doesn't matter if you're having hallucinations; it's still your turn to do the dishes. "
On the first day of my job, I was introducing myself to the community's residence as their new Director. We got a call from the local police department to say they had found the dead body of the most popular girl from the community who had killed herself using one of the drugs she was prescribed. Given that there were several suicidal people in the community, it was imperative to hold literally and figuratively everyone together to go through the beginning of a morning process. Over two years, there were many dramatic events but no successful suicides as I developed a procedure to stop them.The last weekend of my work, an ex-resident broke into the house during the night and set up a system on the first floor to blow up the house and kill everyone. It was my first real introduction to evil. In the end, the perpetrator was sent to a hospital for the criminally insane for three years.
The two years doing this work were extraordinarily eventful, and I learned a lot more living with everyone together than one would do in a 50 minute hour situation or on the ward of a mental hospital. I also learned the distinction between class and culture with residents from England, Scotland, Wales, and the US. Seeing all of these aspects operational in real-time was better than any book on the subject. It made me very practical. I'm comfortable with doing therapy on the run or quietly in the corner talking with someone. It has influenced all of the future at work I've done."
Parties with a Purpose
Over the course of my career, I have often found myself in the position to connect two or more like-minded people in the hope that someday those connections may prove to be the bedrock upon which great things would be built. It has therefore become an unofficial occupation of mine to play matchmaker and to bring together people of similar beliefs so that they can better learn from one another. Among those whom I have assisted in making such connections are:
Brian Cassidy (MEP)
Bear Grills
John Denver
Laurence S. Rockefeller
Foreign Minister Shevardnadze
Association of Space Exploration
Photography
In addition to my professional interests, I have always had a life-long love for the arts and design. Over the years I have collected a number of images that I feel capture the essence of what I seek to discover in life. Some of the photos contained in this collection have accompanying descriptions while others do not.
Events
Over the years, I have been witness to many events both big and small. Some of them, I have been able to capture on film.
Nature
Nature has always been a subject of deep emotional connection for me. I often feel most at peace when I am home among the flowers in my garden.
Creativity
While there is much to be said for the literal beauty of life; equal merit should be given to the abstract as sometimes the greatest beauty comes from within our own minds.
Business Clients/ Career Consulting
Victoria has 25 years of experience as a catalyst for change in both the corporate and non-profit worlds. She helped Senior management and their organizations achieve their economical potential by developing and recruiting "Rain Makers", and those who created new products and services. She specialized in people at the far end of the bell curve; the exceptionally brilliant and the exceptionally talented people with the unusually developed skill of the "border crosser". "Border crossers" are people who have the psychological and cultural flexibility to thrive in multiple situations whether those be countries or disciplines.
Real Estate
Victoria Elliot is what one might describe as the modern Renaissance woman. Though she is now partially retired, Victoria has had a colorful life career in both the for-profit and nonprofit worlds. Victoria has a lifelong interest in real estate, having purchased, renovated, and sold many of her own properties in Connecticut, New York City, and upstate New York. She has been practicing real estate professionally for years. She is particularly knowledgeable about the eastern part of Litchfield County, which consists of Litchfield, Morris, Goshen, Norfolk, Colebrook, and Harwinton. In 2006 she recorded the highest sale on Woodridge Lake in Goshen at $2,450,000. Currently, she works for Sotheby's International Realty in Washington Depot and Lakeville, Connecticut.
This website is intended to serve as an informational memorial to Victoria’s life and accomplishments. Please enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions.
