Owner, Psychotherapist
Emily is the owner and clinical director of Hillcrest Psychotherapy Practice and a psychotherapist within the practice. She works with people across the lifespan to help them explore patterns, gain deeper understanding into their lives and move towards desired changes.
Emily specializes in using play and art therapy to work with children and adolescents who are encountering emotional challenges at home, school and with identity formation. She also has a strong interest in working with adults seeking support with life transitions, parenting, relationships, anxiety and grief. Emily practices with a trauma focused lens where she recognizes the way past trauma can manifest both emotionally and physically. She welcomes using art therapy interventions with adults as desired.
Emily practices psychodynamic, trauma informed, relational psychotherapy. This means that she believes that people’s past experiences and relationships offer important insights into the present day. Her relational lens means that she views the therapeutic relationship as meaningful and foundational in developing self-agency, awareness, and trust.
Emily has a decades-long, extensive background in expressive art education and therapy, including visual arts in a wide variety of mediums as well as creative writing. Emily uses a full range of creative expression therapeutic interventions with children, adolescents, and adults as desired, which are client centered and often client directed.
Emily’s approach is collaborative, warm, and empathetic with a focus on ensuring that her clients feel understood. She knows that clients often come to therapy during a difficult time, and so she encourages clients to share at whatever pace feels most comfortable for them. She is committed to a culturally sensitive, non-judgmental, and anti-oppressive therapeutic space. Emily strives to learn about each client’s unique cultural identity including the ways various aspects of identity intersect. Additionally, Emily continues to examine her own beliefs and cultural identities to better understand the beliefs and cultural identities of others.
Author
Emily has written two award winning creative expression books. Show Me a Story and Journal Sparks, both published by Storey Publishing, which encourage people to connect with their inner voices. She offers workshops, consultations, and visits to groups and organizations with a focus on using mindfulness and creativity practices to support work life balance and mental health well-being. Visit www.emilyneuburger.com for more information on her work as an author and educator.
Professor
Emily has taught a graduate level Child and Adolescent Counseling clinical course at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Emily also designed and regularly teaches an undergraduate course called, Creative Expression and Play in Children and Adolescents, which is housed in the Psychology department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Credentials
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Massachusetts
- Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling, The University of Massachusetts, Boston
- Master of Arts in Teaching with a focus on English, Smith College
- Bachelor of Art in Psychology with a focus on Child and Family, The University of New Hampshire