Welcome! I’m Emily (she/her), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (WA) and Licensed Professional Counselor (OR).
As someone born in the Midwest, I am built with the wide open in my being. I laugh heartily - mostly at myself, and people would generally describe me as deep, introspective, intuitive, creative, playful, and remarkably unembarrassed. I am someone who will deeply listen to you but who will also challenge you in moving toward harmony with yourself and values.
I am not a blank slate therapist. I allow myself to be fully in relation with you. To be moved, tender, sad, angry, and scared with you because thats where transformation happens — when we have a felt sense what it means to be a human fully seen. I take care of myself intentionally so I can show up in this way.
When I’m not a shrink, I am an abstract painter, maker, animal lover, bread baker, and lifelong learner. My partner and I reside in beautiful Bellingham, WA where we love wandering around the bay and exploring the Puget Sound.
Philosophy
&Approach
My approach is collaborative, relational, trauma informed, and human. I offer long term psychotherapy as well as intensives and mental health therapy “check ups.” if you are someone who wants to take a preventative or seasonal check-in approach to your mental health.
I am HAES aligned (Health at Every Size) and have worked with eating disorder populations for over 13 years. I offer an non-diet, weight inclusive, fat liberation, sex positive approach to clients working to confront their relationship with food and/or negative body ima
I tend to see folks where this is not their first rodeo, they’ve had a chronic eating disorder or other persistent concerns for awhile now and they are ready to either deepen their work, or re-define their approach into something more accessible. You don’t have to have motivation to recover, you just have to be willing to be curious.
As a painter and artist, I draw on my experience of presence and process over product and seeing the world through a creative and playful lens.
As a gardener, I draw on my experience of permaculture and tuning into environmental variables that allow one to thrive given the right conditions.
As someone who deals with chronic pain, I draw on my own relationship with my own body, her strength, limitation, wisdom, and how necessary body attunement is.
I strive to promote an atmosphere of respect, belief, and humility; to offer a space that is anti-oppressive and aware of political, economic, and socio-cultural determinants of health that includes injustices concurrent in the systems we operate.
Modalities
Though I have a lot of experience, I do not believe I am the expert, but a co-traveler, collaborator and companion to your journey. I trust that you already contain within you all of the resources you need to heal, sometimes we just need someone who can reflect that back to us in bearing witness.
Above all else, I am a humanist. I am a Psychodynamic depth-oriented practitioner at heart, but utilize frameworks from Psychoanalysis, IFS and parts work (internal family systems), RO-DBT, DBT, somatic work, inner child work, trauma informed care, existential and mindfulness practice. My favorite work is the deep deep work.
Body Liberation
I support the principles of HAES (Health at Every Size) and work from a body trusting, body liberation, feminist position around bodies and body size. This means I will not suggest or endorse dietary, nutrition or eating behaviors that are restrictive, disordered, or weight loss intended. If you are in the stages of eating disorder recovery where you require your therapist to collaborate with dietary & medical support, are stepping down from a residential or outpatient program, or require more intensive support for eating disorder behavior reduction, we are likely not a good fit.
I will however, offer weight neutral, size accepting, gender and sex affirming care to move in the direction of body liberation and body respect, free from the constraints and judgments inherent within diet culture.
If you want help losing weight or need an assessment prior for bariatric or weight loss surgery, these are not services I can ethically offer. I can however, meet you where you are from a harm reduction standpoint and respect your autonomy around your body. Together we can trial factors that allow you more positive health benefits and better functioning - aiming for a greater sense of peace, not perfection or punishment.
“Living in a female body, a Black body, an aging body, a fat body, a body with mental illness is to awaken daily to a planet that expects a certain set of apologies to already live on our tongues. There is a level of “not enough” or “too much” sewn into these strands of difference. - Sonya Renee Taylor
”
My Own
Work
I am committed to the ongoing work of acknowledging my own implicit racism and biases so that my (virtual) office continues to be inclusive, affirming and welcoming to anyone who enters. I welcome feedback and constructive criticism in our relationship as I know I always have room to grow and learn. Therapeutic relationships work best when they are partnerships, not hierarchies.
My space is welcome to you regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, body size, ability, age, gender, or sexual orientation. As a white cis queer female in a straight sized body I continue to examine the privileges I have and how they impact my work, especially with larger bodies. I remain humbled by the beauty and diversity of bodies I get to work with everyday, and strive to acknowledge and honor the sacredness of this work we do together.
Education
& Training
Continuing Education lately
2026- Columbia River Eating Disorder Conference
2026: High Hopes or Hard Truths? Psychedelics and Cannabis in Eating Disorder Treatment
2026: WMHCA:The Journey Of The Supervisor And Supervisee
2026: How Sleep Problems Contribute to Suicide
2026: Ethical Treatment of our Neurodivergent Clients: How we May be Overlooking Sensorimotor Processing Disorders in Adults
2025: Psychedelics in Washington State with Eric Strom JD, PhD & LMHCTrans+ Affirming Letter Writing 101:CREDN conference
2023-2024 - Ketamine Assisted Therapy training through
PRATI
Experience
2023 - Current — Contracted supervisor for Center for Discovery - Portland, OR & Columbia Gorge Council in Hood River, OR
2023 - Current — Approved Clinical supervisor for OR & WA
2020 -
2020-Current —Solo private practice
2014-2020— Adolescent and adult Eating disorder, mood and anxiety disorder residential, PHP, IOP and outpatient programs
2012-2014 —Group and private psychotherapy practice seeing individuals with eating disorders, attachment difficulty, anxiety, depression, trauma and substance abuse
Education
Multnomah University, Portland, Oregon - Masters in Counseling, with distinguished honors 2013
International Federation of Coaching (IFC) Life Coaching Certificate 2012
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana - Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Art & Religious Studies 2011