- Art therapy methods
- LGBTQIA+ affirming
- Coaching for direction
About Emily
Emily Kissner is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) with 12 years of clinical experience. She works with adults facing family challenges, trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, and career questions. She also offers coaching-style support for people reconsidering goals or life direction after big changes.
Emily trained in art therapy and earned a Master of Arts in art therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She combines talk-based and expressive approaches so clients can use words or creative materials to make sense of hard experiences. Sessions focus on practical coping skills and clearer self-understanding rather than labels or one-size-fits-all solutions.
Her practice is informed by a feminist outlook and attention to LGBTQIA+ concerns. She identifies as non-binary and is poly, kink, and sex work-aware, which shapes how she attends to relationships, attachment, and identity in therapy. She also brings experience helping people with adoption and foster care histories, abandonment issues, attachment concerns, and mixed medical and mental health struggles.
Emily works with people facing chronic pain, illness, or disability and with those managing caregiving stress. She also addresses communication problems, codependency, commitment worries, control issues, and body image. Her approach is practical: build coping tools, clarify patterns, and help clients make choices that fit their lives.
Clients who choose her can expect a blend of psychotherapeutic techniques and art therapy methods aimed at deepening self-knowledge and strengthening everyday coping. She conducts work in English and accepts international clients; confirm session options before booking.
How evidence-based methods and creative work translate to online care
Emily integrates evidence-based psychotherapy methods alongside art therapy practices. Evidence-based psychotherapy involves structured talk techniques that target patterns of thinking and behavior; these techniques help with mood, anxiety, trauma responses, and relationship difficulties. Art therapy uses drawing, collage, or other creative media to help people express feelings, notice patterns, and try new ways of coping when words alone feel limited.Finding the right blend of methods is a collaborative process. The therapist will work with each person to decide which techniques fit current needs, goals, and preferences. That conversation guides whether sessions emphasize practical skill-building, reflective talk, or creative exercises.
The original biography does not list specific online formats, so confirm current session options before booking. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into busy schedules, reduce commuting time, and allow shorter check-ins when life is hectic. It can also allow creative exercises to be adapted for use with common household materials, and it supports ongoing work with licensed professionals when in-person visits are difficult to arrange.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Additional focus areas
Experience
12+ years
Listed in
Illinois
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with family issues, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, career questions, and life-purpose concerns among adults.
How would she approach feeling stuck or directionless?
She uses evidence-based psychotherapy and art therapy techniques to help people clarify values, build coping tools, and test practical steps toward change.
How much experience does she have?
She has 12 years of clinical experience working with trauma, personality-related concerns, and life-direction issues.
What credential does she hold and where is she based?
She is an Illinois LCPC, a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor practicing from Illinois.
In which language are sessions offered?
Sessions are offered in English and she accepts international clients.
What session formats are available?
The original profile does not list specific session formats; please confirm current session options before booking.
How much do sessions cost?
Cost varies with location; sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Choose the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are in danger, use the crisis numbers.