Emily Maurer

Bio

I believe in walking with clients on their journeys to find what is healthy, safe, and nurturing for them so that they can feel empowered to live better lives. Difficult times and periods of transition in life can be opportunities to build resiliency, discover strengths, explore core values, change behavioral patterns, and reveal new depths of self-awareness.

I believe in the importance of vulnerability, curiosity, compassion, and the integration of mind, body, and spirit. I am an LGBTQ+ affirming, sex-positive, and a kink and poly/nonmonogamy aware professional and believe that clients are the experts of their own experiences. My style of therapy is eclectic, client-centered, and strengths-based, and I strive to maintain a warm, supportive therapeutic environment. I have been meditating for over a decade, and I love to incorporate approaches like mindfulness and ACT into therapy.

I became interested in mental health as a teenager after experiencing the loss of a loved one. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor with a MA in Family Counseling and have over five years of master’s-level experience in community mental health and substance abuse as well as group private practice settings. I work with individuals and couples throughout their lifespan with diverse sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, and relationship configurations. I specialize in working with clients who are feeling stuck or are experiencing stress, mood disorders, life transitions, grief, relationship distress, or have a history of trauma, including sexual abuse. In my free time, I enjoy spending time in nature, traveling, getting lost in a good book, and reconnecting with myself through tarot and journaling.

In-network insurances

Blue Cross Blue Shield • United • Self pay • Cigna • Aetna

Specialties

Addiction/Substance Abuse • Adjustment Disorder • Alcoholism • Anger Management • Anxiety • Bipolar Disorder • Daytime Sleepiness • DBT/CBT • Depression • Divorce • Domestic Violence • Gender Dysphoria • Grief and Loss/Bereavement • Insomnia • LGBTQIA+ • Life Coaching • Life Transition • Major Depressive Disorder • Men's Health Issues • Mindfulness • Mood Disorders • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) • Occupational Difficulties • Phobias/Irrational Fears • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - Trauma • Relationship Issues • Sadness • Schizophrenia • Self Esteem • Sexual Dysfunction • Sleep Disorder • Social Anxiety • Stress/Worry • Suicidal Thoughts • Women's Health Issues

Education and training

• Northeastern Illinois University, Master of Arts in Family Counseling

Publications

• Lui, H., Rich, P., Maurer, E., and Santoki, S. (2010). When counting sheep becomes counting worries: insomnia, rumination, and depression. Modern Psychological Studies, 15(2), 80-85.

Languages spoken

• English