About Me
Clients often come to me with a sense of hopelessness, feeling anxious or disconnected from their loved ones and/or themselves. This can be especially prominent in the early years after having children or during life transitions. I believe we are all capable of healing and becoming re-connected with ourselves and our loved ones. Each client or family that sees me is unique and brings their own knowledge and experiences to therapy. These unique experiences inform our work together.
I primarily employ a combination of family systems, attachment theory, and narrative approaches. This means that in our time together we look at how your past impacts your future and your current relationships. We will look at how you are connected to others and how those connections impact you and your relationships. Knowing how you tell your story and how it impacts the way you see the world and yourself in it is crucial to our work together. Additionally, I consider your unique relationships and personal circumstances and what is considered best practice for your given concerns.
My role is to use this information in order to increase your feelings of connectedness and ability to live your life in more authentic and meaningful ways that make you feel good about yourself and your relationships. I want my clients to experience feelings of decreased anxiety, increased enjoyment, fulfillment, and connections in their lives as a result of the work we do together.
Credentials & Training
I work with individuals, couples, families, and offer parenting and pre-parenting couples counseling. I have a special interest and additional training in maternal mental health and in parenting support. I am a marriage and family therapy registered intern. I hold a Master’s degree from Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education & Counseling and am a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in the state of Oregon.
In the past, I have worked with families and individuals struggling with addiction and mental health issues, individuals and families struggling with severe and persistent mental illness, and with women struggling with addiction during and after pregnancy.
Areas of Special Interest and/or Expertise
Couples & Families
Addiction & Trauma
Maternal Mental Health
Professional Affiliations/Memberships
Finding yourself is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten-dollar bill in last winter’s coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. ‘Finding yourself’ is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.
- Emily McDowell