"Emily, my experience with you has been so delightful! My self-esteem is higher, and my outlook on life is clearer. I'm a better parent and a better friend. I don't take things personally like I used to, and I'm slower to react. I
have grown so much. I appreciate your nonjudgmental way of counseling." - KC
Hello! Thank you for wanting to know more about my counseling practice.
ABOUT ME: Licensed by the State of Washington as a Mental Health Counselor, I specialize in therapy for individuals and their families. I have a Masters of Psychology - Systems Counseling
from LIOS Graduate College of Saybrook University. My private practice is in Kirkland, Washington, near Juanita Beach Park. I have been in practice since 2012.
WHO I WORK WITH: I work primarily with individuals, and also enjoy work with parents and teen or adult children, siblings, blended families, and families in recovery from a variety of addictions and disorders. I work with couples under special circumstances.
PRACTICE FOCUS: I work hard to create a supportive, nonjudgmental, and collaborative therapy relationship. Addressing a wide range of emotional and behavioral issues, I help individual clients
become more self-aware, and increase personal growth, satisfaction, and happiness. I help families have difficult conversations, apologize to each other and accept appropriate responsibility, resolve conflict, repair damaged
relationships, and get through difficult phases of necessary developmental transition. I welcome difficult emotions which are often avoided or suppressed. My practice areas of expertise are:
- Women's Issues
- Men's Issues
- Relational Issues
- Life Transitions
- Coping Strategies
- Codependency
- Healthy Boundaries
- Childhood trauma
- Reparenting
- Families in Recovery
- Grief and Loss
TREATMENT MODALITIES: I am a client-centered, relational therapist, and the personalized treatment that I offer is an integration of several therapy modalities: systems theory, attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Gottman Method™ techniques and research (I am a Gottman Trained 7 Principals Educator), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Solution Focused Therapy, Structural Therapy, Lifespan Integration ( to process trauma), Nonviolent Communication, Buddhist Psychology, mindfulness, and understanding the interconnected nature of neurobiology, physical health, and psychological well-being. Movement can enhance the therapeutic processing for some clients through Walk and Talk Therapy , an innovative approach to therapy outside of my office.
I also teach DBT skills to help my clients find relief from an emotional crisis. Dialecti cal B ehav ioral Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment that focuses on behavioral change in the realms of emotion regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness, and self-soothing. The skills effectively reduce personal suffering and allow clients to be aware and proactive, versus reactive, with emotions and behavior. This treatment is suitable for a wide variety of clients, who may suffer with anxiety, depression, PTSD, codependency, and many other mental health symptoms. I will refer clients out to a certified DBT clinician or clinic if appropriate or necessary.
I truly love what I do. I am nourished and enlivened as I witness authenticity and share precious moments in the lives of my clients. I consider counseling a sacred calling, and feel a great sense of honor and privilege to do this work. I can relate to those with children and those without, and clients searching for the right partner and those who have found him or her. I lived a long time before creating and inhabiting the life I truly wanted, and consider myself living proof that with a lot of personal work, trust in one’s self, and a committed therapist, anyone can have a fulfilling and wonderful life.
