Emma is from Bartow, FL, however she grew up visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains (where her grandmother was from) which have always felt like home. She moved to North Carolina to attend Appalachian State University in 2015 and stayed for graduate school. While in graduate school, she made West Jefferson her home, where she returned after spending her doctoral internship year in Washington state at Community Health of Central Washington. She graduated from Appalachian State University with her doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) in 2025. Emma’s treatment approach is collaborative and rooted in functional contextualism to help understand her patient’s context and what is most important to them, in order to make progress towards their own goals. She has experience working with trauma, anxiety, depression, OCD, and health behavior change, among others. Emma integrates evidence-based interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and focused acceptance and commitment therapy. She is passionate about serving youth in rural Appalachia and increasing access to evidence-based care. In her free time, Emma enjoys cooking, traveling, gardening, playing disc golf, and spending time with her dogs and loved ones.
Location: Ashe County School District
Meet More Team Members
Alex Holchin, School Based Behavioral Health Consultant, LCSW
Cassie Adler, Behavioral Health Consultant, LCSW-A
Logan Shelmadine, School Based Behavioral Health Consultant, LMFT-A
