Emily Kissner

Emily Kissner is an Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor - LCPC with 12 years of practice. Emily lists family, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, career concerns, and coaching among the central areas she helps people with. She is a multimedia artist and identifies as non-binary; she uses a feminist frame and offers LGBTQA+ affirming care. Emily trained in art therapy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and applies art-based methods alongside psychotherapy techniques. Sessions focus on building coping tools and increasing self-knowledge. She helps people understand their personal and interpersonal context in plain terms. Her background includes work with complex trauma, depression, anxiety, personality challenges, and managing drug use. She is poly, kink, and sex-work aware, and she addresses related concerns such as attachment and abandonment, adoption and foster care, and blended family issues. Practical problems like communication, commitment, and control issues are also part of her practice. Emily works with people facing long-term stressors such as chronic pain, illness, disability, caregiver strain, and co-morbid mental health concerns. She also supports those navigating body image, codependency, and aspects of autism and Asperger syndrome. Clients can expect a mix of psychotherapy and art-based interventions aimed at learning skills and increasing clarity about next steps. The work is collaborative and grounded in evidence-based therapeutic techniques paired with creative practice. To begin, follow the site's matching steps and schedule a first session.

How Emily brings therapy online with evidence-based and creative methods

Emily blends art therapy approaches with psychotherapy techniques. Art therapy uses creative materials and processes to help people express feelings that can be hard to put into words, and it can be useful for trauma, self-understanding, and emotional regulation. Psychotherapy techniques refer to evidence-based interventions that focus on building coping skills, addressing anxiety or depression, and improving interpersonal functioning.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Emily will collaborate with each person to decide whether more art-based work or talk-focused interventions fit best. That decision is based on the individual’s goals, needs, and how they respond in early sessions.

The therapist's biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current options before booking. Online options can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy week, allow shorter check-ins when needed, or remove travel time. Some formats can reduce the need to be on camera and require less bandwidth, while others allow fuller visual work if that helps the art-based parts of therapy. Discuss practical details when scheduling so sessions match daily life and therapeutic goals.