About Emily

After graduating from the University of Montana in Missoula, I began working in group homes and quickly discovered that forming authentic connections and walking alongside people during meaningful chapters of their lives was the right path for me.

I earned my MSW from Hunter College School of Social Work in New York City in 2002 and began building a career grounded in non-pathologizing models of healing. My work is founded on the belief that each of us already holds the capacity for healing within.While living in New York, I worked in court-mandated community mental health in Brooklyn, supported civilians and first responders impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and maintained a private practice.

In 2011, my wife and I moved to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming. Although New York will always hold a special place in my heart, I deeply value the landscape, outdoor life, and close-knit community here. I currently serve on the Albany County School District Board of Trustees.

In Laramie, I have worked with college students at the University of Wyoming, with law enforcement and firefighters in Laramie and Cheyenne, and supported teens, young adults, couples, partners, and families in private practice.

Over the course of my career, people have occasionally asked how I sit and listen to others’ problems all day. I always smile at that question, because that is not how I experience this work. What I am privileged to witness is courage, resilience, and meaningful transformation. Being invited into someone’s healing journey is an extraordinary honor.

“The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying. It is content with the low places people disdain.” - Lao Tzu

About the Therapy Modalities

Internal Family Systems (IFS) & Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO)

There are many roads to Rome. What matters most when choosing a therapist is finding someone you truly “click” with — someone who holds you in unconditional positive regard and offers a judgment-free relationship where you feel safe, respected, and genuinely seen.

At the same time, it’s important to have clarity about how a therapist works. With that in mind, here is a brief introduction to the models that ground my practice.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based, experiential, and non-pathologizing approach to therapy that has gained significant recognition in recent years. It has been transformative for me, both personally and professionally.

IFS understands each of us as naturally made up of many different “parts.” These parts express themselves through thoughts, emotions, body sensations, memories, and sensory experiences. I often think of our internal world as a self-regulating ecosystem. When the relationships between parts are harmonious, we tend to feel aligned and integrated. When parts are polarized or in opposition, we may feel stuck, conflicted, gridlocked — or even as though an internal war is underway.

At the center of this system, IFS holds that there is a core Self — an innate presence characterized by calm, clarity, compassion, curiosity, creativity, courage, confidence, and connection. The metaphor I often use is that the Self is like the sun, and our parts are like the clouds. At times, we may feel completely clouded over, not sure if the sun is still there. When the clouds part, even slightly, the warmth and steadiness of the sun becomes available again. Self energy is always there, even in our most triggered or hijacked times. As parts begin to “unblend” and allow space for Self energy to emerge, new and deeply healing relationships can form within.

Intimacy From the Inside Out (IFIO) is an innovative and integrative model of relational work for couples, intimate partners, and families. Rooted in IFS, systems thinking, and neuroscience, IFIO invites people to look beneath surface conflicts and explore what is happening within each partner’s internal system — and how those systems interact.

What speaks to me most about IFIO is its depth of compassion. Rather than focusing solely on learning new communication scripts or techniques, IFIO helps people understand the protective patterns and vulnerable parts driving their interactions. From that understanding, authentic connection and Courageous Communication becomes possible. When partners access more Self energy, new possibilities for growth and intimacy naturally emerge.

I remain continually moved by witnessing individuals and couples discover new depths within themselves and between one another. When people feel safe enough to turn inward with curiosity and compassion, transformation unfolds in ways that often surprise and inspire them.

“Conflict, managed rightly, yields intimacy.”

Sallie Ingle, IFIO Trainer, Austin Texas