Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do. – Brene Brown
Emily is currently in network with Aetna, Anthem, BCBSIL PPO, Blue Choice, United Healthcare and Cigna. She is also offering self-pay and can also provide a SuperBill if requested.
Hello and thank you for choosing to begin therapy! Whether you have worked with a therapist in the past or if this is your first time, you have decided to make yourself a priority and that’s amazing! I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Illinois and would love to provide you with the support you need. I believe that feeling both seen and heard is one of the most important aspects within the healing process. Your story is yours alone to tell, and we all deserve to feel safe to share openly with someone and without judgment. It is my passion to understand the inner workings of each individual and the experiences they’ve had that make them who they are!
APPROACH
My approach is to first utilize a holistic lens in working with each client in order to uncover their unique qualities and identities. This allows me to tailor their therapeutic experience while pulling from the following evidence-based treatment modalities that would best fit their needs. Here is a brief description of each:
Person Centered Therapy is a client centered approach in which the therapist will strive to understand the client’s experience from their perspective. It also is on the basis that each person has the innate ability to change and grow, which sometimes becomes clouded by certain life experiences or struggles.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence based approach in which negative thoughts and distortions in thinking are challenged. Once the patterns of thinking are identified, we work to change those patterns which will in turn change your feelings and then your behaviors.
Exposure Response and Prevention Therapy (ERP) is a type of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and involves gradually confronting the thoughts, images, objects, and situations that drive the fears and obsessions. ERP also aims to prevent one from engaging in rituals and compulsive behaviors. By resisting the urge to engage in the compulsions, this will result in long term reduced anxiety surrounding the obsessions.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a CBT approach that aims at helping clients recognize a both/and approach versus an either/or perspective. The basis of DBT is acceptance and change. DBT is primarily skills based, so you will learn skills that help get you to this acceptance and change phase. Dialectical thinking is an integration of opposites. An example of this would be “I am doing the best that I can and I want to do better”, rather than “I am doing the best that I can but I want to be doing better”. Behavior indicates it is a behavioral approach (meaning to change the behavior).
Behavioral Activation is a CBT related skill that is used to examine how our behaviors influence emotions. It is based on the understanding that depression keeps us from taking part in things we enjoy, bring meaning to our life, and in some cases taking care of our basic needs such as eating, bathing, performing day to day tasks, etc. By using behavioral activation, we are “activating” the feel good emotions by first engaging in the activities that have been avoided. This is the opposite mindset of someone who is experiencing depression, whereas they are more likely to think that if they could first feel better, they would then have the motivation to engage in such activities. However, the idea behind behavioral activation is to activate first, action precedes emotion.
QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION
2020 – Masters in Counseling Psychology | The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
2015 – Bachelors of Arts | Columbia College Chicago
EXPERIENCE
I have experience in working with individuals, adults, adolescents, families, and groups. I’ve worked mostly with patients in partial hospitalization programs and intensive outpatient programs. Both settings have allowed me to confidently identify safety concerns and patients who are at-risk. I have gained both crisis stabilization and de-escalation skills when working with clients who are feeling emotionally dysregulated. I also have been privileged to work with families and being able to navigate the relationship issues amongst each family member while in session. I’ve led psychoeducation groups, process groups, as well as parent coaching and support groups, in addition to 1:1 therapy sessions with individuals.
I’ve provided therapeutic treatment for concerns such as anxiety, OCD, perfectionism, substance use, trauma, depression, and personality disorders. Additional topics that I’ve worked with include parent support and guidance, generational trauma, and relationship issues such as setting/maintaining boundaries and improving communication.
PERSONAL
I look forward to beginning this journey with you! To help you learn a little more about me outside of a clinical setting, I’ll share a glimpse of what my personal life looks like. During my free time, I enjoy soaking up all the cuddles I can with my son before he heads into his toddler years. I love being a mama, and I value family time as well as appreciate the small moments of being present together. I also binge listen to audible books and podcasts while driving and going about my day. Before I began my training in the mental health field, I was a cheerleading and dance coach for many years. I then earned my Bachelors degree in dance and have continued to use movement such as dance, yoga, and exercise as a way to release stress. It was through my experience with coaching youth cheerleading and dance that led me to wanting to help adolescents with family issues and other life stressors that I had witnessed my athletes undergo. I am excited to get to know you and begin our work together.