Therapist profile
Emily Hakkinen, LICSW
Licensed clinical social worker - Family and parenting concerns
Continue with EmilyAbout
- Stress and anxiety
- Grief and loss
- Client-centered methods
About Emily
Emily Hakkinen is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, LICSW, practicing in Vermont with five years of professional experience. She helps people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, grief, relationship strain, low self-esteem, motivation problems, and life changes. She also supports concerns related to addiction, trauma and abuse, career questions, compassion fatigue, and LGBT-related issues.
In sessions she focuses on clear conversation and practical steps. She listens for what matters most and uses straightforward methods to address daily pressures and difficult feelings. Sessions are aimed at helping people sort priorities, try small changes, and notice what helps over time.
Her approach draws on client-centered work, mindfulness, motivational interviewing, narrative ideas, and solution-focused techniques. That means she helps clients find their own goals, pay attention to the present moment, build motivation, tell and reframe personal stories, and try concrete solutions that can be tested between meetings. These methods are applied in simple, understandable ways rather than theory-heavy language.
Emily’s background includes supporting people through grief, caregiving stress, attachment and abandonment concerns, aging issues, and immigration-related stress. She also works with people managing ADHD symptoms, impulsivity, intellectual disability, and communication problems.
People preparing to start therapy will be guided through a short matching questionnaire and scheduling process. The focus in early sessions is practical: clarify what you want to work on, pick a starting step, and agree how to check progress in the weeks ahead.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Emily commonly uses client-centered work, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing in her practice. Client-centered approaches focus on listening and reflecting so the person leads what feels most important. Mindfulness work helps people notice thoughts and bodily reactions in the moment and practice brief attention exercises to reduce reactivity. Motivational interviewing is a conversational method to strengthen a person’s own reasons for change and build small, achievable goals.Finding the right mix of methods is part of therapy. Emily will collaborate with each person to choose which approaches fit their goals and preferences, and she will adjust the plan as progress is tracked. This is a practical process aimed at trying new steps and checking what works.
The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current online options before booking. Many people find that online sessions make it easier to fit meetings into a busy day, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and remove travel time so work or caregiving breaks are easier to schedule. Talk with her during the matching questionnaire about your scheduling needs so you can pick a rhythm that fits daily life.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
5+ years
Listed in
Vermont
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of family concerns does she support?
She helps people with family problems, communication issues, caregiving stress, and parenting strain as individual concerns rather than running family sessions.
How does she work with anxiety and stress?
She uses mindfulness and client-centered conversation to help people notice stress patterns and try small, practical coping steps.
What is her professional background?
She has five years of professional experience and works as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, LICSW, in Vermont.
Where is she licensed to practice?
She is licensed in Vermont as a LICSW and practices from that state.
Can I work with her if I live outside the United States?
International clients are not currently accepted; sessions are offered in English to people within her permitted region.
What session formats does she offer?
Please confirm current session formats before booking since the biography does not specify which formats are offered.
How are costs and billing handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Start by selecting the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.