Get to Know Our Team: Emily Heo – Adult & Teen Therapist

Who am I?

My name is Emily, I grew up in the D.C metro area and attended the University of Virginia for my undergraduate degree and received my BA in Psychology. I went into college knowing I was going to major in psychology, but wasn’t quite sure what I’d do with it until I developed a passion for advocating against stigmas around mental health on campus. I grew to be quite embedded in the mental health/psychology community at my university and worked closely with advisors and mentors who pointed me down the path of clinical work.

I continued my education in Boston and got my MA in Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. My first clinical placement was at Boston Medical Center’s Community Violence Response Team. I was exposed to a variety of high acuity cases with populations who struggled with access to resources and basic needs. This placement taught me to work in a high pace environment, but also the importance of implementing techniques and theories surrounding multicultural counseling. I did my next placement at Boston Medical Center’s Child and Adolescent’s Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic. This was where I grew a love for working with clients individually providing long-term care. I learned the importance and impact of trusting therapeutic relationships. I knew after graduation, I wanted to pursue an outpatient setting, which brought me here! And while I was only in Boston for a couple years, I consider it home despite Chicago being far superior in the food scene.

What I do

I have experience working with both children and adults with diverse cultural backgrounds. I’ve worked with a variety of presentations from higher acuity cases like Schizophrenia to less severe cases like adjustment to life transitions. I predominantly work with presentations of trauma, different anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. I’ve commonly seen clients struggling with depressive symptoms along with self harm. I also have previous experience working with adolescents with eating disorders, and children with neurodivergent diagnosis, like ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

I believe in using a transdiagnostic approach to appropriately address the underlying root of the problem in a holistic manner. I work at understanding your experiences rather than just your presenting symptoms. I pull from Humanistic/Existential, Family Systems theories and use approaches like CBT/DBT/ACT, narrative therapy, motivational interviewing, and evidence based trauma-informed approaches with multicultural considerations.

Therapy With Me

Every person is different, so each person requires something a little different. I won’t make you fit into a mold, and I also can’t give you a one perfect solution to all your problems. But I will utilize different therapeutic approaches and techniques that fit your needs as an individual person. A crucial part of therapy with me in curating a trusting environment where you feel safe to share your narrative with me. I believe that trust is earned, not just given, so I don’t expect you to be able to tell me, a stranger, quite everything immediately. I believe in patience in this process and healing. I highlight giving the client agency in their care and collaboratively working together to create treatment goals and steps towards them. Sadly, in therapy, I can’t do the healing for you, but I can be there so you’re not alone in it.

I provide both in-person and telehealth therapy sessions for individuals, ages 14 and older. If you’re curious about therapy with me or would like to know me, I offer a free 15 minute consultation for all potential clients.

First Appointment

If you’ve read far enough and are still interested in meeting with me for the first time, our administrative staff can assist you with the proper paperwork to get you started and scheduled for your first appointment! Our initial session will be going over your primary concerns, discussing history of events that have led you to therapy, and informing you about the expectations of the therapeutic process at Serengeti Wellness. My goal is to address your concerns in a holistic manner, which requires getting a thorough background on you and your life situation. This will set us up well to continue our work together.

Why Therapy?

There’s a lot of different types of therapy for a lot of different concerns, so you may be asking why therapy for me. I’ll keep it simple. Because we can’t do it all on our own all the time, and that’s okay.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking the time to read through this introduction of me! I am empathetic to the fears or worries that may come with the idea of starting therapy. In hopes to help minimize those trepidations, I work to meet you where you are at in your journey and work with you to name your needs. I validate your efforts to seek peace and healing in yourself, and I will meet you with patience and understanding. I am passionate about this work and grateful for the opportunities to work with clients in their journey. If you have any questions or interest in working together, you can reach me at emily@serengetiwellness.com or my Psychology Today profile, or book through our website or ZocDoc. You can also reach out to our administrative team, and they can coordinate your care and help you get set up!

I look forward to hearing from you 🙂