About Emily
Emily Emerson, M.A., LMFT, GTC
Those are a whole bunch of letters that mean I have a Master of Arts in Couple and Family Therapy, I am a fully licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Washington State (LIC#LF 70063725), and I am Geek Therapy Certified.
Beyond those letters, I am also a nerd, geek, wife, mom to my cats Miqo'te and Mellie, avid watcher of anime and western cartoons, collector of TCGs, and player of MMOs. FFXI has its talons back into me. I also build gunpla with my partner and enjoy getting outside when the sun and pollen are not trying to ruin my day.
Memberships & Recognition
Connected to the wider field.
I stay grounded in the broader marriage and family therapy community through active membership and a certification that reflects how I actually work.
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
Member (AAMFT)
Washington State Association of Marriage and Family Therapy
Member (WAMFT)
Geek Therapy Certified
Certified (GTC)
Approach
Human first, model-informed.
I take a humanistic approach to therapy. There are foundational models and interventions in the back of my mind, but we are also two or more humans sitting in a room together. That relationship is important work.
Reflecting on the patterns and stories we learned growing up is just as relevant as reflecting on why we chose the ending we did in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and why it felt like the right one for us.
Working With Me
Conversation, curiosity, and better questions.
Working with me will hopefully feel like having a conversation with someone who gets you, except you leave with questions about yourself, your beliefs, and the story you want for your life.
I talk about stories a lot because the stories we hear from family, friends, media, and the world around us shape reality. They teach us what "should" or "should not" be, what is right or wrong, and what parts of us are supposedly too much.
Many of those stories are thin. They miss the details and beauty of life. They are also typically written for us. I approach my work believing that we are all the authors of our own stories, which means we get to set the rules, design the drama, and choose who gets to read them.
Values In The Room
Therapy does not happen in a vacuum.
Our lives are shaped by relationships, stories, identities, systems, and material realities. I will not ask you to pretend that politics, oppression, capitalism, fascism, climate grief, transphobia, racism, ableism, or the cost of surviving are unrelated to mental health.
The work is not to deny reality. The work is to decide how you want to live within it, who gets access to your story, and where you can still build care, agency, joy, and witness with people who get it.