Meet Emily

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Emily is a licensed psychotherapist and experienced trauma therapist.
She is a dedicated professional and has been in practice since graduating with her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from the Michigan School of Psychology in 2011.

Emily is currently practicing under the clinical supervision of Dr. Ann Emilie-Clare Smith, Psy.D., LP.

Through both her own lived and professional experiences, Emily understands…

  • The frustration of spending hours upon hours, and thousands of dollars, on talk therapy and still struggling to follow through with the changes you know you want to make.

  • The fear, anxiety, and overwhelm that can arise, making it feel impossible to follow through with your good intentions.

  • How hard you’ve been working and how much you want something more for yourself, but it’s like a constant internal battle to actually do something differently.

  • The painful self-blame and criticism that happens when you know what you “should” do, but can’t seem to actually do it.

  • Wanting to let go of who you think you’re “supposed to be” in order to become more of who you already are.

Emily also understands…

  • The deep healing power of working with your brain and body to help you gently move through those stuck places.

  • The freedom, joy, and possibilities that can arise when you do your healing work so you can show up more fully in your life.

  • The massive relief that can come from learning to work with, instead of against, your nervous system.

  • The healing impact of learning to trust yourself more deeply when you aren’t always trying to please everyone else.

  • The unburdening and peace that can come from healing generational and systemic trauma and living life on your terms.

You deserve to live without the heaviness of your struggles weighing you down.
You deserve high quality, effective therapy that actually works.
You deserve to give yourself the gift of healing.

What you can expect in therapy with me:

Personalized Guidance

I understand that your life experiences are unique. Through personalized sessions, together we will explore and identify your specific challenges, growth edges, and aspirations, and co-create a roadmap tailored to your healing and success.

Trauma-Informed Healing

Trauma can unknowingly dictate your behaviors, reactions, and choices, blocking attempts at healing and growth. Innovative and integrative practices, such as Brainspotting and somatic work, will allow us to address trauma at its core, creating lasting healing and transformation so you can live the life YOU choose.

Holistic Transformation

I believe that transformation encompasses all areas of your life and being that you choose to include in the process. My holistic approach ensures that changes you make in our work together ripple out positively into the rest of your life.

Virtual Therapy

I offer online therapy, through the Zoom platform, which is secure, private, and HIPAA-Compliant. Virtual therapy can be highly convenient, allowing you to meet with me from anywhere in the State of Michigan!

Humanism & Humility

My values include affirmation, acceptance, dignity, and inclusion of people from the many and diverse spectrums of human existence. I am committed to life-long learning, humility, and the ongoing work of anti-racism and decolonization, supporting generational healing, and contributing to more safe, just, equitable, and compassionate communities.

Education

Emily received her undergraduate degree, with a major in
Psychology, from Oakland University in 2010.

She went on to graduate with her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from the Michigan School of Psychology in 2011 and is a Limited License Psychologist (LLP). She passed her licensing exam (EPPP) at the doctoral level in 2013.

Certifications
-Certified Brainspotting Practitioner (2018) and Consultant (2022)

-Certified Trauma Professional (CTP I &II).

-Certified Whole Life Healing Life Coach (2022)

Certificate in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies
with Linda Thai (2023)

Work Experience and Training

Emily’s early career involved working in diverse clinical settings, including in-patient, intensive outpatient, and outpatient environments, where she provided support to individuals struggling with addiction and offered in-home care to individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Emily's career trajectory led her to several local outpatient group practices, where she gained extensive experience working with a wide range of clients and addressing various mental-health related issues.

At the end of 2015, Emily's professional journey took a transformative turn when she attended a training led by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. This experience inspired her to pursue a specialty in treating trauma. She began training in Brainspotting in early 2016, leading her to become a certified Brainspotting Practitioner in 2018, and later a Brainspotting Consultant in 2022. Her dedication to trauma work continued to grow as she earned certifications as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. 

In 2021, after being an independent contractor in multiple outpatient group practices since 2013, Emily ventured into independent practice, establishing her own solo-private practice, where she provides specialized trauma-informed care and treatment. She continually pursues personal and professional growth, demonstrating her commitment to lifelong learning. In 2022, she expanded her skill set by becoming a Whole Life Healing Life Coach, and is currently pursuing a certificate in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies, while also attending a bi-weekly consultation group on the topics of trauma and dissociation, lead by her supervisor, Dr. Smith, Psy.D.

Emily's current focus lies in empowering fellow small business owners to address and transform trauma and people-pleasing tendencies. Her unique perspective as a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) equips her with a deep understanding of neurodiverse HSP individuals, further enhancing her ability to support clients.

Her electic approach to therapy has been cultivated through over a decade in practice and thousands of client sessions. Driven by a passionate belief in the power of education and healing, Emily is dedicated to helping individuals understand how trauma affects their brains, bodies, and nervous systems. She combines various therapeutic modalities, including somatic work, parts-work, nervous system regulation, self-compassion, and Brainspotting, to facilitate trauma resolution and healing.

Her work also includes a continually deepening understanding of the real and traumatic impact of systems of oppression on overall health and well-being; capitalism, racism, ableism, fatphobia, homophobia and transphobia, and patriarchy, to name a few. She has often found that providing information and education about how our bodies function, coupled with an intersectional understanding of systemic issues, organically promotes increased self-compassion, acceptance, authenticity and healing.

Beyond her clinical work, Emily holds a profound conviction that decolonized trauma healing is integral to social justice efforts. She believes that helping individuals overcome trauma allows them to mobilize and fight against systemic oppression and injustice, empowering us all to envision and create more equitable, just, and inclusive communities.

Her clinical experience, training, and intuition, coupled with her somatic, trauma-trained, integrative, holistic, anti-oppressive, and compassion-focused treatment goes beyond traditional talk therapy to address root causes in the nervous system, ultimately making working, living and loving easier for those experiencing the impact of trauma and emotional neglect.

In her down time, Emily genuinely enjoys continued learning and gets particularly enthused listening to audiobooks about the bodymind, trauma healing, and the nervous system, in addition to listening to the occasional work of fiction for book club. One of her favorite podcasts is Glennon Doyle’s: We Can Do Hard Things.

In the spring of 2022, Emily installed 9 raised garden beds in her yard and enjoys growing a variety of organic vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers.

Last, but certainly not least, as an animal lover, Emily enjoys spending time with 2 rescue dogs and 2 cats, and her foster kittens. She is passionate about positive-reinforcement dog training, and fear/force free handling, and finds that it is highly trauma-informed!