Emily Davis, MS, LAC, LPC (Therapist)

Emily Davis (she/her) is a Licensed Therapist at The Center for Growth. Emily provides a warm, friendly, and supportive environment where she values each client’s strengths and goals. In a session with Emily, you will be able to express yourself, try on new perspectives, troubleshoot, brainstorm, and explore. She uses elements from psychodynamic and person-centered theory, along with cognitive-behavioral and acceptance and commitment therapy, in order to assist each client in learning more about themselves and their potential. During these stages of exploration, Emily likes to incorporate psychoeducation in order to give context to our experiences. Having an understanding of how our brain works can be incredibly validating and empowering. Knowledge is power, and with knowledge comes positive change. In practice, she encourages clients to utilize self-reflection, curiosity, and honesty in session. Emily welcomes her clients’ unique perspectives and recognizes how culture, relationships, and beliefs influence our experiences in life.

Emily takes special interest in:

Sex therapy
ADHD therapy
Trauma therapy
Grief therapy
Couples Therapy
Therapy for LGBTQIA+ communities

In the past, Emily has worked in creative writing, TV production, and project management. Her passion for creative expression and the human experience directed her to explore those avenues but ultimately led her to counseling, thus earning a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health from Gwynedd Mercy University. She understands first-hand that life is unpredictable, but we all have the capability to withstand its challenges and soak in our triumphs. She approaches therapy with a devotion to creativity, investigation, reflection, and personal growth.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Emily currently lives in Philadelphia and enjoys any opportunity to go dancing, host a poker night, and always orders a croissant with her coffee.

Read more about Emily’s therapeutic approach:

Psychodynamic Therapy

The foundation of psychodynamic therapy is self-exploration and reflection. Emily uses a free-flowing format in her sessions that allows new topics to be explored in the hopes of bringing awareness to the fears, beliefs, values, and experiences that shape us. In session, clients will be prompted to look into their past in order to understand how it affects the present, in order to be intentional about shaping the future. With that awareness comes the ability to understand ourselves better and incite desired change in aspects of our lives and ourselves. Emily believes that through a strong therapeutic relationship, she and her clients are able to examine patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that present challenges or positive opportunities.

Person-Centered Therapy

A person-centered approach highlights each individual’s unique qualities and their potential for fulfillment. Instead of presenting the ‘right’ way to do things, she welcomes her clients to use their own intuition and personal strengths to figure out what works best for them. You are the master of your universe! Emily aims to be an empathetic, supportive, and encouraging presence for clients to use as a resource for growth. She recognizes that everyone is different and has their own version of a ‘happy life’. Her goal is to help clients figure out what that looks like for them and provide a therapeutic space to strive for it. She wants to help you get to know yourself and empower you to make choices that will reflect your wants, needs and values, now and in the future.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioral therapy is useful to create a structured way of problem-solving through examining patterns of harmful thoughts and behaviors and actively working to change them. In session, you may explore your thoughts, how they influence behaviors, and how you feel about it all. Rather than labeling emotions, thoughts, or behaviors as ‘wrong’, CBT allows us to recognize patterns we’d like to change and address them head-on. Emily uses honesty, empathy, and creativity to guide clients in exploring different ways of understanding their experiences, thoughts, and behaviors, and to help them find positive coping strategies. CBT has a strong foundation in challenging one’s own beliefs in order to make room for a more expansive and accepting self-image and supportive behaviors.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is known for encouraging individuals to process thoughts and emotions by acknowledging them, welcoming them without fear or judgment, and letting them pass. While CBT encourages confrontation, ACT allows us to take a step back and recognize our thoughts without being driven by them. Ultimately, it gives us the ability to choose which thoughts to engage with and which to let go of. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy places importance on our personal values and encourages us to commit to actions that uphold them. Life is full of complexities, and in turn so are we. Emily believes that being able to identify, examine, and observe our thoughts and emotions is an empowering experience and presents more choices for who we want to be and how we want to react.

Read more about Emily’s Special Interests:

Sex Therapy

In our society, we are constantly bombarded with conflicting messages about sex. “Sex is fun.” “Sex is bad.” “Sex is shameful.” “Sex is empowering.” “Sex is everywhere, but don’t talk about it.” “Sex is allowed for some, but not all.” This leaves us with feelings of confusion, guilt, shame, and makes little room for exploration and celebration. Through sex therapy, Emily creates a judgement-free environment to openly talk about sex and encourages exploration of the sexual self, our understandings and values surrounding physical intimacy. Emily encourages clients to investigate ways of creating a personally fulfilling and positive sex life. Emily aims to help clients with dysfunction, low libido, trauma, pain, and shame by releasing negative emotions and beliefs surrounding sex and replacing them with curiosity, acceptance, and pleasure. She welcomes LGBTQIA+, poly/ENM, kink, and BDSM communities.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, in adults is a widely misunderstood experience. Commonly thought of as a ‘child’s disorder,’ ADHD affects more than just your ability to sit still or pay attention. Recurring symptoms of Adult ADHD may be struggles with emotional regulation and mood swings, procrastination, overstimulation, burnout, low self-esteem, impulsivity, memory, and even relationships, and juggling responsibilities of daily life. Emily believes that investigating how these symptoms might impact your life provides the ability to better manage them. Since Adult ADHD is misunderstood, it comes with limiting stigmas that can be harmful to our self-image. Oftentimes, adults with ADHD grew up feeling ‘different,’ ‘weird,’ or ‘incapable.’ Through ADHD Therapy, Emily wants to challenge those ideas by highlighting her clients’ strengths and their capacity to customize their lives to best fit their needs. She believes in the benefits of an open space to dismantle society's negative labels for ADHD and explore actionable ways to create the life they want.

Trauma

Emily recognizes that trauma, whether acute, chronic, or complex, can play a major role in a person’s life and leave lasting effects. Trauma can change how our minds and bodies react to any given situation, how we feel about ourselves and others, and even how we see the world at large. Traumatic experiences are often seen as pivotal moments in life, but Emily believes that they do not define us. Emily hopes to guide clients through trauma therapy to help them process emotions, challenge residual negative beliefs, and identify positive coping skills in order to take on each new day. In trauma therapy, by creating a new understanding of such events, clients will be able to better manage their recurring symptoms and approach life feeling confident in their resilience and resourcefulness.

Grief

Experiencing loss ignites many complex emotions– anger, sadness, regret, hopelessness, loneliness– all of which can feel overwhelming and insurmountable. Emily recognizes that grief can seem impossible to confront, but she aims to provide a supportive space to express emotions without judgment. Grief comes in many shapes and sizes, all of which are valid. Loss is part of life, and Emily understands that mourning is non-linear. Whether we are dealing with the death of a loved one, a break-up/divorce, or a major life transition, grief might look and feel different day to day. Emily likes to show up to sessions as a listening ear, a cheerleader, and a resource by guiding her clients through these complex emotions and highlighting their resilience.

Couples Therapy

Relationships are hard. But not impossible. While working with couples, Emily likes to highlight the importance of recognizing each individual and the unit they represent together. In couples therapy, by exploring recurring patterns in the relationship, Emily and her clients will work toward their goals through honesty, accountability, and intentionality. Through open conversation, couples will be able to explore the role each individual plays in the relationship and discover new ways to communicate, connect, and problem-solve. Couples may seek support in reigniting their sex life, dissolving co-dependency, or working through infidelity and ambivalence. Emily acts as an unbiased presence and aims to provide a space for couples to learn more about each other and make intentional decisions about the relationship. In couples therapy, Emily welcomes LGBTQIA+/queer, non-monogamous, and polyamorous couples.

Emily Davis, MS, LAC, LPC (Therapist)'s Resume