Elisabelle Bocal, MSW, LCSW

Elisabelle Bocal is a Vietnamese American clinician, educator, and doctoral student in Human Development whose work explores the intersections of human development, communication, culture, relationships, and mental health. Born and raised in Maine, her work connects culturally responsive practice, community engagement, and lived experience.

Elisabelle holds a BA in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Southern Maine, an MS in Media Science from Boston University, and an MSW from the University of New England. At UNE, she received Interprofessional Education Honors Distinction and was a Maine AHEC Care for the Underserved Pathways Scholar. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Human Development at Lesley University.

Her research explores diaspora, grief, ritual, cultural practice, identity, belonging, and intergenerational connection within AAPI communities. More broadly, she is interested in how culture, relationships, and social contexts shape human development, meaning-making, and well-being.

As an educator, Elisabelle is interested in pedagogy that bridges academic theory with lived experience. She is passionate about interprofessional learning that encourages curiosity, collaboration, and reflection, helping students consider development within its broader relational, cultural, and social contexts. Her clinical background further informs her teaching and attention to the intersections of theory, identity, communication, and lived experience.

She hopes to create learning spaces where students think critically, ask meaningful questions, and remain curious about what we carry—what we remember, what we inherit, and what we carry forward. Nhớ—to remember, to miss, to hold close.