Vita Emery, PhD, LMSW
People often come to my practice repeating behaviors that feel natural but that realize the same painful outcomes they want to avoid: dating the same type of person, getting into the same arguments, feeling the same anxiety. By focusing on both the practical decisions we make and the deep systems of belief and value that inform these decisions, I help patients cultivate a sense of self that aligns more intentionally with who they want to be. Good therapy is not just about symptom remediation or diagnosis, it is about creating a life worth living.
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As a clinician trained both in psychotherapy and philosophy, I get to know how my patients’ minds operate – how beliefs, desires, and emotions form a sense of self and sustain patterns of thought and behavior. I work to understand how these fit together, and when they do not, what prevents that from happening. I pay careful attention to your lived experience to understand not only what is going wrong but what is going right and work with you to increase that in your life and relationships. I believe that good therapy is not just about symptom remediation or diagnosis, it is about creating a life worth living.
While the bulk of my practice is with adults, I have extensive experience working with kids and teens. I know that navigating middle school and high school is harder than ever. You feel under constant scrutiny by parents, teachers, coaches, and friends - and with social media, its often impossible to escape that feeling of needing to perform. And then, just as you have (mostly) figured out who you are, you find yourself in college where you don't know anyone and you have to do it all over again. Having someone to talk to who isn't mom or dad can really help during those years when everything feels unstable and you feel like you don't have any control.
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In addition to my psychotherapeutic training, I have studied philosophy, receiving my PhD from KU Leuven (Belgium) and an MSc in philosophy from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). I was a visiting scholar at NYU's Center for Bioethics from 2018-2021 and have published widely in several leading journals. Just as the study of philosophy has informed my work as a psychotherapist, my therapeutic practice continues to influence my philosophical research. ​My research has explored the meaning of the concept of “disorder”, issues in neurodiversity, the history of mental health in the United States, Nietzsche, artificial intelligence and psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis.
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As a New York University trained psychotherapist with certifications in both psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), I believe that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. I am an integrationist, meaning that I am fluent in multiple therapeutic approaches and combine these to provide therapy that is highly individualized and tailored to your specific needs. The therapy I practice balances addressing the immediate distress of today with an understanding of how your history and relationships inform and sustain those feelings. The result is an evidence-based approach to therapy that focuses both on the here-and-now as well as the underlying, and not always acknowledged, beliefs and values that got you here.
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