Hi, I’m Emily

Before becoming a therapist, I started as an attorney specializing in women’s rights and child advocacy.  Through my work as an attorney, I realized that while I didn't enjoy actual legal work (legal reading, research, and writing were not my strong suits!). What I loved was connecting with my clients and learning about their backgrounds, family lives, belief systems, and dreams.  I was fascinated by people and their stories and wanted to work with my clients on a deeper and more meaningful level.

In law school, I also struggled with my own mental health issues that I had dealt with since childhood but came to a head at this stressful time in my life.  It was then that I got help for myself and started to see how powerful and transformative therapy can be. I believe dealing with my own mental health challenges has helped me be a better person and a better therapist.  I get what it’s like to feel stuck and held back by mental health issues, and also what it’s like to put in the hard work to transform oneself for the better. This led me to eventually go back to school at New York University to pursue my Masters of Social Work. I was drawn to social work because of its emphasis on social justice and advocacy, which are core values of mine.

As a clinical social worker, I have worked in many different settings: emergency rooms, inpatient detox and rehab, and intensive outpatient programs before starting my private practice in 2015. My style is warm, engaging, and genuine. I work from a strengths-based perspective: helping individuals and couples identify and draw upon their strengths, and use those strengths when working on challenges. 

I am passionate about relationships, and I love helping people work through conflict and develop deeper and more empathic connections with others and themselves. I have been fascinated with relationships for as long as I can remember. When I was 8 or 9 years old, when every other girl my age was reading teen magazines, my favorite magazine column was Can This Marriage Be Saved? in Ladies Home Journal! So you could say my path to becoming a couples therapist started at an early age!

As a Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, I have received extensive years-long couples therapy training in Imago relationship therapy. My Imago training was deeply transformative for me not just professionally but personally.  I entered Imago training as a single thirty something.  At that point I had been dating on and off online and on the apps for over 15 years.  I deeply know what it’s like to be single and yearning for partnership, and to struggle with dating and finding the right connection. 

Through my Imago training I learned so much about myself and how my past and childhood contributed to why I pick certain partners today, how I contribute to issues in my relationships, and how I can make changes to have more satisfying and connected partnerships.  Imago helped me become a much more conscious and intentional person and partner. 

A few years into my Imago journey I met my now husband.  Imago has made a huge difference in our own relationship journey as well.  We are now married and live in NYC with our daughter and cat Puck.  Outside of work we love to ski, travel, eat dessert and spend time with our friends and family.

My other interest in sex therapy and sexual health led me to seek training to become a sex therapist at University of Michigan's Sexual Health Certificate Program.  My interest in sex therapy also started at an early age.  While I was in law school I volunteered for an organization in Washington DC that worked with sex workers providing sexual health advocacy and support.  During that time I also worked for a sex toy company that helped women have more pleasure and fun in their sex life.  These transformative experiences helped ignite my passion for sex education and sexual health advocacy.   Growing up I didn’t really learn much about sex- aside from messages in sex ed about STIs and pregnancy (not very fun and informative!). 

As a sex therapist I strive to create a safe,  non judgmental environment where couples and individuals can explore ideas and feelings around sex and relationships, bust long standing myths and ideas about sex and pleasure that are holding them back,  and help them have more fun, satisfying and fulfilling sex lives.