Emily Charakas, MA

I am a Pre-Licensed Mental Health Counselor who was experience working with individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other conditions or symptoms. I help clients' find goals they believe in and develop the skills to reach them. I offer Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD and anxiety disorders.

Who are you? Who do you want to become? What do you need in life to find meaning, purpose, and to grow? Let's explore these questions together. Therapy can offer a safe space to navigate and find relief from anxiety and trauma, difficulty getting started on the things that matter to you, and to process experiences that have shaped who you are. Therapy can help you to understand your past, embrace your present, and create a fulfilling future. Let's uncover your strengths and build a life you love!

Together we can explore your lived experiences and find meaning and purpose amidst life's uncertainties. I work with clients who have experienced trauma, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, ADHD, hopelessness, self-harm, and relationship conflict. I offer weekend and evening hours for clients who work during the week.

I am passionate about working with clients through a systemic lens, where we consider how people are impacted by personal, familial, peer, institutional, and cultural experiences. I believe that every person is the expert in their own life, and work to develop a personalized list of goals for our treatment plan. Each client is unique, and I tailor interventions based on each client's symptoms, world-view, learning style, and hope for what therapy will look like.

​I use a person-centered, strengths-based approach that incorporates DBT, CBT, ACT, humanistic, and existential theories to build resilience and help clients better understand their emotions. I continually work toward being an antiracist, LGBTQIA+ supporting, and multiculturally competent provider.

A goal of mine is to begin offering nature-based therapy sessions beginning in the spring of 2026, based in Saint Paul, MN. I also provide in-office and virtual appointments. Please reach out if you have any interest in therapy sessions conducted outdoors.