Addiction therapists & psychiatrists in Peoria, IL

I’m Emily, a licensed psychotherapist and Clinical Social Worker with a specialization in healthcare from Aurora University. I have extensive experience across various levels of care—including inpatient psychiatric settings, residential treatment, PHP/IOP, and community mental health—I have dedicated my career to supporting individuals facing co-occurring disorders, addiction, eating disorders, and trauma.

Through my work with complex cases, I have observed that many challenges are deeply rooted in trauma and systemic issues.

Life can be overwhelming. Feeling alone while struggling can compound that sense of despair. Whether you're experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, loss, trauma, divorce, career challenges, health issues, addiction, or even just confusion about the future, seeking help is the beginning of the change. As a career woman, licensed attorney, mother, divorcee, and active community member, I bring my own life experience and vast education to my work. We can figure out a plan together to make navigating the day-to-day more manageable.

I've spent more than 30 years working at the intersection of trauma, behavioral health, substance use, and the legal system — the places where people's lives get the most complicated. My background includes community mental health, child welfare, residential treatment, and forensic social work throughout the Chicago area. I've worked with courts, directed multi-site programs, and served populations that most therapists don't encounter. Now I bring all of that experience into one-on-one telehealth sessions for adults across Illinois.I work best with people who have been through real complexity: trauma that runs deep, co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges, grief that doesn't follow a timeline, life disrupted by legal system involvement, or histories that are hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen it before. If you've worked with other therapists who didn't quite get it — I understand, and I'm not starting from scratch with you. I'm also currently completing my Doctorate of Social Work at the University of New England, which reflects my commitment to staying at the leading edge of clinical practice. My work is grounded in evidence-based approaches — CBT, Trauma-Focused CBT, Motivational Interviewing, Strength-Based Therapy — applied with warmth, directness, and 30 years of real-world experience behind them.

I grew up on the south side of Chicago. I am married and have two adult children. I have been a registered nurse for 30 years, primarily in women’s health and psychology and psychiatry nursing. I became a clinical mental health counselor 5 years ago, graduated from Bradley University.

I am a board certified Pyschiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with a passion for helping others meet their individual goals. My nursing career started in 2015 on an inpatient psychiatric unit. I completed my Master's degree in 2018 and moved to Oupatient Psychiatry and Consult Liaison services. For the last 7 years I have worked in Addiction Psychiatry and Dual Diagnosis settings, focusing on medication management, harm reduction, and decreasing barriers to high quality care.

I have been a therapist for over twenty five years with a varied background including hospice, nursing homes, home care and individual counseling settings. I became a licensed, clinical social worker after graduating from the University of IL-Urbana 30 years ago.