Grief counselors and therapists in Knoxville, TN

If you understand why you feel the way you do but still can’t seem to change the patterns keeping you stuck, therapy can go deeper than simply talking about what’s wrong.

Hi, I’m Emily Burgess, LCSW, PMH-C, CMNCS, owner of Conduit Counseling Collective. I work with clients who may look like they’re functioning well on the outside but internally feel anxious, overwhelmed, disconnected, stuck in old patterns, or exhausted from holding everything together.

My approach is warm, practical, collaborative, and whole-person focused. We’ll make space to understand your story and where your patterns came from—but we won’t stop there. I believe insight is most helpful when it leads to meaningful change in everyday life.

My work integrates evidence-based therapy with parts work, somatic approaches, nervous system regulation, and the connection between mental and physical wellbeing. When appropriate, we may explore how sleep, movement, nutrition, stress, relationships, and daily rhythms are impacting the way you feel. Mental health doesn’t exist separately from the rest of your body or your life.

I’ve worked in mental health since 2013 and have specialized experience in anxiety, life transitions, women’s mental health, and perinatal mental health.

Therapy with me is supportive, but it’s also active. I’ll bring curiosity, compassion, perspective, accountability—and probably some humor. You don’t need to have the right words or show up with everything figured out.

My goal is to help you better understand yourself, build trust in yourself, and turn insight into change that actually carries into your life.

I hold over five years of experience in mental health and have seen a wide range of ages, diagnoses, cultures, and levels of willingness to change their life circumstances. I provide my clients with the freedom to be who they are and to take off their masks. I have seen and heard almost everything and invite people to be their honest selves with me.

Tameka Dennis is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has an office located in Murfreesboro TN. Tameka received her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology 2011 from Tennessee State University. She received her Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Trevecca Nazarene University. Tameka started her private practice in 2018. Specialties and Expertise includes Women Issues, Marital and Premarital, Depression, anxiety, Men's issues, grief, self-esteem, stress, and relationship issues.

I am a licensed therapist specializing in anxiety, trauma, addiction and relationship challenges. I work with children, adolescents and adults to create a supportive space where healing and growth feel possible.

Specific modalities are Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Nurturing Parenting, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), Psychotherapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Family Therapy, Solution-Focused, Mindfulness and Muscle relaxation.

I have over 20 years of experience providing psychotherapy across a wide range of settings, including acute and non-acute mental health, residential treatment, and outpatient care. Throughout my career, I've worked with adults, adolescents, individuals, and couples facing everything from everyday life stressors to more complex emotional and psychological challenges.

While I work with a broad range of concerns, I have particular interests in relationship counseling using the Gottman Method, chronic pain utilizing Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT), addiction, borderline personality disorder using DBT, and anxiety-related disorders. I also frequently help clients navigate life transitions, relationship difficulties, parenting, work stress, panic, and general emotional well-being.

One thing that deeply shapes my work is a genuine curiosity about the human condition. I believe every person's story makes sense when we take the time to understand it. Rather than viewing people through the lens of a diagnosis alone, I strive to understand the experiences, relationships, beliefs, and circumstances that have shaped who they are. I see therapy as a collaborative process of exploration, insight, and meaningful change.

Hi, I'm Dr. Deborah DeFrieze, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 15 years of experience helping people work through anxiety, stress, trauma, grief, depression, and life's hardest transitions. If anxiety or overwhelm has been running the show lately, I'm here to help you take the reins back — with a warm, honest, and practical approach.

My path to this work has been a rich one. Alongside my social work career, I spent 33 years in public education — as a teacher in both regular and special education, an assistant principal, a principal, and an assistant professor — and I served as a missionary in Africa for 18 months. Those experiences taught me to meet people where they are, across every walk of life and stage of change. I hold a Master of Social Work from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a doctorate in education from the University of Georgia, and I'm also a Licensed Massage Therapist, which deepens my appreciation for the mind-body connection in healing.

I draw on evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), EMDR, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, tailoring our work to what will help you most.

Sheena Rymer, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), received a Master's Degree in Social Work from Valdosta State University in May 2014 and a clinical license in Social Work in September 2019. During that time, she interned and worked at Miller Counseling Services, Pruitt Nursing Home, Mountain Education Charter School, and Fannin County School System. She facilitated groups; provided care consultations and coordinated services for clients both admitted and discharged from the nursing home; and provided individual counseling services. Moreover, Sheena has over five years experience in crisis intervention. Sheena is an active member of School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA), Fannin Children's Fund (FCF), and Social Workers Action Group (SWAG).

I get it—feeling stuck in the same old patterns, craving deeper connections, and wondering how to even begin to break free can be exhausting. If you’re anything like the people I work with (and honestly, like I once was myself), you’ve probably spent a lot of time thinking, “Something has to change... but what?” That’s where I come in.

There’s much more to your story.

I believe therapy should be a place where you feel seen, supported, and empowered to grow. Drawing on decades of experience, I provide a compassionate, practical, and holistic approach to therapy. I began my work as a spiritual and addictions counselor in 1981 and became a state-licensed mental health therapist in 2007. Since then, I have partnered with individuals, couples, families, and groups to help them build on their strengths, clarify their values, and create lasting change.

Before moving into private practice, I spent 20 years serving the Cleveland, Tennessee community as an outpatient therapist with Volunteer Behavioral Health.