Emma Howard Psychotherapy

Hi, my name is Emma. I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and I received my formal education and training through the Masters of Relational and Family Therapy program at the University of Guelph. 

If you have been thinking about trying therapy for awhile, or you’ve been confused about where to begin, I want to acknowledge that it isn’t always easy to get here and start looking for support. It can be vulnerable to open up to a stranger, and I do not take that responsibility lightly. 

I was drawn to this work because I believe the process of therapy can be healing. Not because of “tips or tricks” or that a therapist has the answers to “fix” problems, but rather, you know your own life best. I’m here to support you in uncovering the answers that you already know, are beginning to piece together, or have yet to discover and to explore how you want to move forward with that information. 

I believe therapy can help us understand the patterns, behaviours, and strategies that protect us; patterns built and formed by hard, distressing, and unfathomable things. For a lot of us, we learn to cope with our environments and experiences in ways that might go against our values or what we hope for ourselves. Experiences like chronic anxiety, rumination, anger, perfectionism, people-pleasing, emotional overwhelm or shutdown, numbing, self-doubt, hyper-independence and chronic self-criticism, are all responses that tell a story about what you’ve been through and how you got through it. I hold these parts with compassion and curiousity. They came about as the result of something real and for good reasons - to keep you safe and protect your dignity. 

Life is hard, random, weird, beautiful, and sometimes just downright comical. I don’t believe we are meant to do this life thing alone, but sometimes we find ourselves in painful situations where that is the case. We might feel ostracized, ridiculed, unloved, too much, or not enough. I think there is something really powerful about being seen by another person in that pain, but also while being seen for the strengths and possibilities that have been there all along too. 

In our time together, we can explore the patterns and behaviours that feel stuck. Of the ones that are no longer working for you, we can explore what you want to hold onto, what you want to loosen your grip on, what is time to let go of, and what to reach for. We can imagine what feeling more fully alive means to you, and get curious about what pieces of that might be possible and within reach.

I offer virtual therapy for those residing in Ontario and walk n' talk therapy in Guelph, Ontario. I work collaboratively with individuals, couples, groups, and families from a relational, systemic, somatic-informed, and trauma-informed lens.