welcome
welcome
475.675.3988
emilyfieldstherapy@gmail.com
Hello, I’m Emily!
I’m a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in New Haven, Connecticut. I completed my graduate studies at Southern Connecticut State University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program and currently see clients through my private practice. I have several years of experience working in mental health, addiction and eating disorder treatment. I’m very comfortable working with a range of diagnoses and co-occuring mental health challenges.
relational health as a foundation
I’m trained as a relational therapist, which means I focus on the patterns and themes in relationships across time. This includes family members, partners, friends, colleagues, and even the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client.
When we go through painful events and trust in others becomes compromised, it can feel like the ground is getting ripped from under our feet. Moving forward may feel insurmountable. It takes lots of courage to reach out to a therapist who can help support you in healing and restoring your life.
My role as a therapist is to walk alongside you - to overcome challenges and gain a deeper understanding of you and the people in your life. We will work towards building secure, fulfilling relationships. You are never alone.
Connection - we’re biologically wired for it, yet maintaining closeness can be far from easy. All relationships can benefit from attention and care, even if you are on solid ground. Relationships are hard. They take work, and it can be hard to do that work on your own. Challenges are an opportunity to get stronger.
Recognizing when things aren’t working takes courage. There may be fears around what might get opened up. Even the mere suggestion of trying therapy might feel worrisome. The fear, shame, and hopelessness stands in the way of getting the help you need to thrive.
In a partnership, each person brings elements of their past that shaped them into who they are today - their families, previous relationships, heartbreaks, expectations, dreams. This is what makes you, you! When you’re in a relationship you don’t stop being you. When I do couples work, my approach is to focus on understanding each individual, as well as the relationship you have created together.
In my training, I adopted the belief that the way in which you choose and respond in a relationship is based on your attachment style, which is formed in childhood. Knowing more about this part of yourself and your partner is an effective way towards meeting each others needs in new ways.
what the heck does this mean. how can conflict be positive?!
If each member of a couple is being honest and authentic, conflict is bound to come up here and there. It’s to be expected! Even though conflict is the worst, once you learn strategies for defusing emotional intensity and working your way through conflict, you’ll increasingly trust your ability to find resolutions. Conflict becomes less intimidating. Dealing with conflict successfully can add depth to the relationship, which brings you closer together. The bond becomes stronger.
Once you become more fluent with handling conflict, the other facets of intimacy tend to feel easier and/or more enjoyable. This is NOT me granting permission for free-for-all fighting. In our couples therapy, we approach conflict in a sensitive and supportive way. We develop and practice new ways of communicating about matters that often lead to fights.