Hi there! You can call me Em (they/them).

I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Austin, Texas providing relational, trauma-informed therapy for adults, couples, and LGBTQIA+ clients.

Authenticity and connection are at the heart of my therapy work.

I believe healing happens in relationship, and that the one we build together matters as much as any technique I bring. I aim to co-create a space that invites both safety and stretch, drawing from attachment theory, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), parts work, and somatic approaches. Together, we'll get curious about the patterns you learned early: how you came to protect yourself, reach for others, and make sense of your worth, and how those old strategies show up in your closest relationships now. In the room, I'm warm, curious, and direct. I'll slow us down when things move too fast, invite you to notice what's happening in your body, and name what I see with care. I treasure moments of attuned connection with clients, whether through shared laughter, reflective silence, or the deepening trust that can emerge through disconnection and repair.

A woman with short dark hair and a patterned shirt jacket, holding a mug and smiling at camera, sitting outdoors at a restaurant or cafe with other people and orange umbrellas overhead.

Who I Work With

You might be coming to therapy in a season of crisis, or after years of quietly managing. You might be coming on your own, or with the people you're in relationship with. However you arrive, you've likely gotten good at surviving in ways that are starting to cost you.

If you're coming on your own, maybe you:

  • are in the middle of something hard right now (a loss, a rupture, a leaving, a diagnosis) and want somewhere steady while it's still unfolding

  • carry experiences your body hasn't let go of, even when your mind insists you should be past them by now

  • feel worn down by the daily work of existing in a world that keeps asking you to justify your place in it

  • find yourself constantly caregiving, performing, or anticipating others' needs, and rarely let anyone do the same for you

  • crave closeness, then notice yourself bracing, testing, or pulling away once you have it

  • question your gender, or want room to know it more deeply without having to arrive anywhere

If you're coming in together, maybe you:

  • love each other, but keep getting pulled into the same painful cycle and don't know how to find your way out

  • fight about the dishes, the text, the tone, and know it isn't really about any of that

  • navigate difference in your relationship, whether in identity, culture, background, or how you each move through the world

  • get told you've shut down or don't care, when you've actually hit your limit and don't have words yet

  • are living with something that broke trust, and every attempt to talk about it makes it worse

  • reach and reach, and can't tell anymore whether anyone is reaching back

Therapy can offer a space to better understand the patterns that once helped you survive, but may no longer be serving you now. Together, we'll work toward building more self-trust, emotional flexibility, and connected relationships, both with yourself and with the people closest to you.

    • Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Texas: #113230

    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Trained

    • Master of Science in Social Work from The University of Texas at Austin

    • Bachelor of Arts in Feminist Studies from Southwestern University

  • I approach therapy through a lens of anti-oppression, cultural humility, and the understanding that you exist in a context. I pay attention to the ways intersecting systems of oppression (including white supremacy, cisheterosexism, ableism, anti-fatness, and capitalism) shape both personal and collective mental health. My approach is relational and collaborative. I won't assume I know what's best for you, and I won't take us somewhere you haven't agreed to go. In our work together, I aim to create a space that honors your lived experience and supports you in reconnecting with your own power, agency, and inner wisdom.

    Modalities & Influences:

    • Attachment Theory

    • Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)

    • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

    • Internal Family Systems (IFS) & Parts Work

    • Somatic (body-centered) Therapy

    • Mindfulness-Based Approaches

    • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)

    • Relational Life Therapy (RLT)

    • Interpersonal Processing

    • Psychodrama, Sociometry, & Experiential Group Work

    • Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned care

    • Person-in-Environment (Social Work Systems Perspective)

    • Feminist and Queer Theory

  • My background spans university mental health, higher levels of care, and private practice settings. I previously worked at the University of Texas Counseling and Mental Health Center, where I provided therapy and crisis intervention to undergraduate and graduate students navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity exploration, relationship challenges, disordered eating, and major life transitions.

    I also worked within intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization levels of care, supporting adults navigating chronic trauma, suicidality, self-harm, mood and anxiety disorders, relationship and identity-related stressors, and co-occurring substance use concerns. My work there included individual therapy, crisis support, and facilitating psychoeducational, experiential, and process groups. I also created and led two groups of my own: a Queer & Trans process group, offering community and support at a level of care where affirming spaces are rare, and an Interpersonal Processing group focused on how relational patterns show up in real time between group members. I continue to value the ways group therapy can create opportunities for authentic connection, relational healing, and being more fully witnessed by others.

    • Psychodrama Training Institute, Onsite Workshops (2026)

    • EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Therapy Training, Intuitus Group Counseling Clinic (2025)

    • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) Externship, International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (2025)

    • Relational Life Therapy (RLT) Level 1, Relational Life Institute (2024)

A Little More Personal

Queer, gender-expansive femme, lifelong Texan, coffee enthusiast, and recovering perfectionist.

When I’m not in sessions, I can usually be found spending time with my spouse and close friends, thrifting, experimenting in the kitchen, practicing joyful movement, taking my cat Mango on walks, or starring in my own at-home fashion shows. I feel most embodied and connected to myself when I’m with loved ones, stretched out on a quilt in the grass, sipping a cup of tea, or floating in a body of water.

Gender expansive person with short dark hair smiling, wearing a black sleeveless top, with a blurred background of trees and a building.
A white and orange cat lying curled on a cozy blanket on a sofa, illuminated by sunlight.

“I touch my own skin, and it tells me that before there was any harm, there was miracle.”

— adrienne maree brown