Emilie Staryak

Victor Frankl once expressed: “Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”

Emilie is a Licensed Professional Counselor working with children, teenagers, adults, and families. Her professional career began with a Bachelor’s in Science from Drake University. She went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Clinical Community Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. Emilie then completed her US Professional License in 2012 while living and working in Seoul, South Korea. Her experience in the mental health field spans all ages and populations. She spent many years in school-based counseling settings while working for nonprofit organizations to provide services to underserved communities in elementary, middle, and high schools. In residential treatment, Emilie provided individual, family, and group counseling to teenagers as part of their treatment plan for behavioral issues, recovery from childhood trauma, and undiagnosed Aspergers. As a Military Family Life Counselor, she provided highly confidential mental health treatment to military service members and their families. She also served the expat community in a private practice setting while living in Seoul, South Korea.

When working with children, teenagers, adults, and families, her roots are in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. However, Emilie centers her approach for each client on their specific needs, drawing from many evidence-based modalities to create a personalized treatment for each person’s mental, emotional, and spiritual growth and freedom. She is currently working to expand her toolbox by becoming a Registered Play Therapist and hopes to include Animal-Assisted Psychotherapy in the near future.

In addition to serving the military community in a professional capacity, Emilie has personal experience as a former military spouse, with many cross-country and international moves before settling into her new forever home in NWA. Her childhood was spent as a Third Culture Kid in several states across the country as well. While uprooting was difficult, she discovered a passion for traveling to new places, experiencing new things, and meeting new people. Her soul finds healing in anything outdoors including hiking, camping, kayaking/floating, and exploring as well as experiencing live music. Emilie is also passionate about wildlife and domestic animals and has had several foster and rescued pets. Whether indoors or outdoors, she enjoys creating beauty in any form, experiencing all the things life has to offer, and spending time with her young daughter, her dog, family and friends.