The
Pattern Architecture™
Founder

Liz Oncel

Integrative Trauma Practitioner, educator, and architect of The Roots & Rewire Method™.

Liz Oncel is an Integrative Trauma Practitioner, educator, and the architect of The Roots & Rewire Method™. She is the founder of Pattern Architecture, based in Chicago.

Over nearly a decade of practice, she trained in EMDR, Schema Therapy, the Gottman Method, Somatic Therapy, Intergenerational Trauma, and Self-Compassion research. Her observations across hundreds of cases produced the thesis that now underwrites Pattern Architecture: that understanding alone does not change patterns, and that leadership of the nervous system has to be built as a multiplicative architecture across four operating layers.

Her work sits at the intersection of research and practice. She draws on polyvagal theory (Porges, Dana), memory reconsolidation (Nader, Ecker), intergenerational trauma transmission (Yehuda, Wolynn), family systems (Bowen, Schützenberger), attachment repair (Johnson), and couples research (Gottman), integrated through a methodology she has refined across hundreds of cases.

She is a published author. Her public-facing writing appears weekly on Substack and is republished in Pattern Architecture’s Writing archive. She is currently at work on her first major book, Lead Your Nervous System: The Architecture of Becoming Unrecognizable to Your Old Patterns, forthcoming.

She lives in Chicago.

Credentials

Training & credentials.

  • Mindful Self-Compassion

    Center for Mindful Self-Compassion · United States

    A 10-week Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program.

  • Integrative Trauma Practitioner

    Integrative Psych Institute · United States

    An 18-week program covering nervous system regulation, embodiment, and trauma techniques such as somatic therapy, MBSR, biodynamic breathwork, intermediate somatics, Body Trauma Liberation™, and IFS.

  • Schema Therapy Practitioner

    The International Society of Schema Therapy · Germany

    Schema Therapy is an integrative, evidence-based approach designed to identify and transform deep-rooted maladaptive patterns formed in childhood.

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

    Institute for Behavioral Studies · EMDR Europe

    EMDR supports the brain’s natural processing, helping people reframe difficult experiences and ease the responses attached to them. It is widely studied in the context of trauma, PTSD, and related emotional difficulties.

  • Inherited Family Trauma

    The Family Constellation Institute · United States

    Inherited Family Trauma work traces how unresolved experiences and survival patterns pass down through a family system, and how those patterns can be recognized and interrupted.

  • Gottman Couple Therapy

    Gottman Institute · Seattle, United States

    The Gottman Method is a research-based approach to relationships that maps the patterns beneath conflict and connection, and builds the skills that help partners repair and stay close.

Education

Degrees.

  • Clinical Psychology

    Master’s · Üsküdar University · Institute of Social Sciences

    This master’s built expertise in evidence-based modalities, psychopathology, and mental health, grounding her educational approach to trauma and emotional well-being.

  • Neuroscience

    Master’s · Üsküdar University · Institute of Health

    An in-depth study of brain function, neuroplasticity, and the biological mechanisms underlying behavior, emotions, and cognition.

  • Psychology

    Bachelor’s · Bahçeşehir University · Faculty of Arts and Sciences

    A strong foundation in human behavior, cognition, and mental health, covering research methods, psychological theories, and applied practice.

Research & Presentations

Selected talks.

  • RIKEN Brain Science · Tokyo, Japan

    Artificial Intelligence Approach for Classification of Bipolar and Unipolar Disorders by Using Biomarkers

  • IBERO American Congress on Clinical & Health Psychology · Puerto Rico, United States

    Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Cancer Patients

  • Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Congress · Turkey

    Mindfulness and Brain

Recognition

Awards & publications.

  • Finalist, Author of the Year 2026 — International Impact Book Awards (Hollywood Grand Gala)
  • AuthorSelf-Talk Guided Journal: Build Inner Trust & Let Self-Love Lead

Liz Oncel is an Integrative Trauma Practitioner and educator. The work offered through Pattern Architecture and its Institute is educational and psychoeducational in nature. It is not psychotherapy, counseling, or treatment for mental health conditions. Participants are responsible for maintaining appropriate clinical care from licensed providers where applicable.

Read the founding thesis.

Everything the work rests on, in one document.

Read the Thesis