Therapist, LCPC: LC13928

Tele-health sessions offered, with limited in-office availability

Emily believes in a therapeutic approach that not only highlights strengths but also cherishes the uniqueness of each child or adult that she works with and uses that as a central focus of treatment. Emily works in a partnership with her clients to identify new ways that best serve the client’s overall goals. The use of grounding techniques or body-based regulation are a few tools that Emily encourages her clients to use to better center themselves in their daily lives.

 

When working with children, Emily believes in the importance of involving caregivers in treatment to support the overall mental wellness of the child while also keeping in mind the significance of the parent-child relationship. As not all children are the same, Emily builds her approach using developmental strategies and resources appropriate for each child and their social-emotional needs. 

 

If seeking services for yourself, you may find working with Emily helpful if you are…

• Wanting to learn new skills to address life’s daily stressors

• Intrigued by body-based regulation to manage feelings of anxiety

• Needing support to process recent changes in life

• Ready to acknowledge unhelpful patterns in your life and take the first steps to realign your choices with your core values

 

You may find working with Emily useful if you are a parent or caregiver who has a child that…

• Experiences difficulty with big emotions and is in need of support to communicate them

• Struggles with attention and completing tasks in a timely manner

• Has difficulties interacting socially with peers

• Is often side-tracked with worry throughout the day that impacts their daily activities

 

In addition to working with children of all ages, Emily has received further training and certification in two evidenced-based methods: Child-Parent Psychotherapy and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. 

 

• Child-Parent Psychotherapy is a treatment model for children ages 5 and under who have experienced stressful, traumatic, or scary events in their lives. One of the main goals of this approach is to support and strengthen the parent-child relationship in the wake of stressful events to restore and protect the child’s mental health. Emily’s role is to support the family in creating their own story related to their experiences and understanding how the events, emotions, and behaviors are all connected. This approach is best conducted in person.

 

• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is a program for children aged 2-7 with challenging behavioral concerns. The program is designed to coach caregivers using specific skills to guide their child’s behavior. The program is split into two phases. The first teaches the caregivers play-therapy-like skills to enhance the parent-child relationship. The second phase will provide skills to the caregiver to respond to the most challenging behaviors. Emily supports the caregivers every step of the way to remain calm and confident as they learn to set limits and respond to difficult behaviors. PCIT is a time-limited program, lasting on average 16-20 weeks. Emily only offers this modality through tele-health.

 

Emily earned her Masters degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Emily has clinical experience working with educators and students in both community and academic settings. Both within and outside of clinical work, Emily strives to find beauty in all things and believes wholeheartedly that the use of some well-timed silliness can be just as effective as any other therapeutic tool.