You don’t have to feel scared anymore.
MEET EMMA, LPC
I’m a Texas-based online therapist who specializes in men, women, and LGBTQ+ adults who are struggling with relationships and difficult childhood memories, who want to stop people-pleasing and feel confident in themselves when it’s time to have hard conversations and make challenging choices.
Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a sign of strength.
I know how hard it feels to feel broken and unfixable, to feel like you have to keep it together for the sake of everyone else. You’re scared of what could happen if you lose control of yourself. Your job is to take care of everyone else and make sure every one around you is comfortable, even if you’re not.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Letting go of the need to be likeable, and being ok with other people feeling disappointed if you say no to something is possible. The work you put into getting there will be rewarding; you will know what it is to feel peace, maybe for the first time in your life.
You want to be able to be vulnerable with other people, but you don’t know how. And you’re here because you want to ask for that help, to learn how to get your needs met in your life. This is the work I am most excited to do with my clients, and I can’t wait to help you get there too.
My Passion For Therapy
Being raised in an achievement-based household, I originally did not think working in mental health would be in my future. The expectation was that you always had to be doing “something,” and rest was always difficult to find. I escaped the pressure of grades and perfect, “girlish” behavior by diving into fantasy worlds within books, movies/TV, and video games.
Having undiagnosed ADHD is what eventually drove me to study psychology at UT Austin. Knowing I was “different” than my peers and wanting to understand what made them “normal” compared to me naturally led me to wanting to study human development and behavior. I knew I did not want to have the imbalances and conflicts in my life that my family had, and through my own therapy was able to find a deeper understanding of myself and the challenges I regularly face. Rather than pursue a PhD and a life in academics as originally planned, I wanted to help people find this same self-understanding and contentment that I did, so I stayed in Austin to receive my Master’s degree in Counseling from St. Edward’s.
Now, I get to do what I am passionate about for my profession: helping the Perfectionists, the ambitious creatives, and the ever-achieving professionals find the balance in their lives that generations before us were never allowed to have. It is my privilege to work with you in breaking cycles and witnessing you discover how to feel your emotions in a way that leaves you feeling stronger. And while I may have a much busier life than I did when I was younger, I still embrace being a fantasy geek. But today I engage with those worlds as a way to enrich my life, rather than escape it.
How I Work
Change happens when you learn how to listen to your emotions.
I’m a nerd at heart, growing up living in fantasy worlds and loving science. Today, this has influenced my philosophy on how to help clients meet their goals in therapy. Clients often come to me unsure of what obstacles are blocking them from feeling happiness in their relationships and fulfillment in their lives. What they do know, is that they feel stuck, and the challenges they are facing seem insurmountable.
Together, we discover those obstacles, climb that wall, and face those challenges so that you can overcome the fears that are holding you back, and learn to listen your intuition.
When clients really get down to business, they get sh*t done. An important part of therapy is learning more about yourself. I liken it to solving a jigsaw puzzle: when we know what all of the pieces look like, it’s easier to put the puzzle together and get a clearer picture. This is why it’s important for clients to meet with me consistently, because laying those pieces out takes time and tough questions.
In order to strengthen our emotional muscles, we have to work them out on a regular basis. The tools clients learn in therapy sessions with me are designed to be incorporated into your daily or weekly routine, so that you can continue to grow outside of sessions. The effort you put in builds up over time, and working with me means empowering yourself towards living a life that isn’t full of guilt, shame, and constant tension.
My philosophy:
Therapy is a collaboration.
I believe sessions are a space for you and I to have meaningful, reflective discussions about you, your life, and the future you want to create for yourself. This means I am here to ask more than just, “How does that make you feel?” over-and-over again. The questions I ask are designed to keep us moving in the direction you want to go and to help you look within yourself in ways you have not been asked to do before.
The health of your mind impacts the health of your body. Decades of research highlights the fact that—when unmanaged—distressing emotions like anxiety, depression, and loneliness can lead to devastating medical issues in various parts of the body. Going to therapy and strengthening your mind is about ensuring your wellbeing for the future and maintaining your health so that you can truly enjoy your life.
Therapy is an investment into your wellbeing.
Sure, life is hard, and it can be unfair at times, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer day after day, waiting for something to change. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you just have to begin to move towards it. You can find relief from the constant tension and overwhelm, and I’m here to help get you there. You deserve to have a life that you enjoy living, rather than feeling like you’re in constant survival mode.
You deserve to find peace.
My Background
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BA in Developmental Psychology
University of Texas at Austin
Master of Arts in Counseling
St. Edward’s University
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
License #83851
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EMDR Trained
National Certified Counselor
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EMDR International Association
Austin IN Connection
Goodwill Central Texas Counselor
2019
Crisis Text Line Counselor
2017-2020
SAFE Alliance Community Educator
2018-2020
Ready to get started?
I can’t wait to meet you.
“Respect the past; you never know how it may affect you.” - Brom, Eragon