Emily L. Rizzo
Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LPC, NCC

Pronouns she/her/hers

I believe we deserve to be heard, to understand our feelings, and to speak our truth.

I have worked with teenagers, adults, and families as a counselor/therapist for over 15 years. I am passionate about providing LGBTQIA+ counseling, working with the LGBTQIA+ population along with genderqueer, non-binary, & genderfluid people, interracial relationships, and individuals in non-monogamous or polyamorous relationships. I am kink/BDSM affirming. During my career, I have worked with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, people of color, and helped clients with depression, anxiety, self-motivation, trauma, self-harm, grief, familial relations, gender identity, sexual identity, sexual/relationship needs, communication in relationships, understanding their identity, and self-integration.  I work from a lens of dismantling white supremacy and therapeutically look at how whiteness & the fragility of whiteness affects our sense of self, communication, & emotions.

Along with individual therapy, I provide couples and family therapy and have experience working with families who have been through the foster care system, adoption, and with parents of teens in a wilderness/partial hospitalization/intensive out-patient program. My experience with counseling people in recovery from traumatic experiences led me to an Advanced Trauma Certification through the Lisa Ferentz Institute in 2017. In 2015, I began my journey in extensively learning DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and incorporate this skill-work into my sessions. I am also trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) which is a trauma based modality incorporating rapid eye movement.

A certified yoga teacher from Skyhouse Yoga Studio in Silver Spring, I believe in incorporating healing movement and breath work into sessions. I am a proud member of Maker’s Lab DC (founded by Lee Livingston Perine) which builds and supports queer communities by creating spaces that celebrate life, art, and queer culture.

Counseling is helpful during a hard time and can be something we come back to when we need support or a tune-up. Self-care is a daily act and my belief is that counseling can help jump start our self-care routine