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Emma Kiely, MA, LPC
Therapist | Intern Coordinator
Emma is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) who earned her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a specialized interest in working with children, adolescents, and young adults experiencing anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and trauma. Emma integrates cognitive-behavioral, body-based, and holistic approaches into her work, tailoring treatment to each client’s developmental stage and nervous system needs.
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Emma is formally trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold-standard, evidence-based treatment for OCD, allowing her to specialize in helping individuals struggling with intrusive thoughts, compulsions, and anxiety-driven behaviors.
More about Emma
Emma’s work is grounded in helping children, teens, and young adults heal from anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), trauma, and nervous system dysregulation. She brings a thoughtful balance of evidence-based practice, compassion, and psychoeducation, helping clients better understand their minds and bodies while building skills for lasting emotional regulation and resilience.
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Emma takes a humanistic, holistic, and science-informed approach to therapy. She is especially passionate about demystifying mental health struggles by teaching clients about the brain, nervous system, and biological foundations of anxiety and OCD. By combining insight with practical tools, Emma empowers clients to feel more confident, capable, and in control of their healing process.
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As an LPC, Emma integrates cognitive-behavioral and body-based interventions to support meaningful and sustainable change. Her specialized training in ERP allows her to work effectively with individuals experiencing obsessions, compulsions, avoidance behaviors, and mental rituals.
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Emma works with clients from all backgrounds who are struggling with anxiety-related disorders, including OCD, panic disorder, health anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), agoraphobia, and specific phobias. She also has extensive experience supporting children and adolescents with mood disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, Emma works with military children and families, recognizing the unique stressors related to deployments, relocations, and family separation.
Background & Training
Emma earned her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts. She completed her master’s-level clinical internship at Boston Medical Center, the largest safety-net hospital in New England, where she served as a graduate intern in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In this role, she provided developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed care to children, adolescents, and young adults ages seven to twenty.
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Prior to graduate school, Emma graduated summa cum laude from Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience and Biology. During her undergraduate training, she gained early clinical exposure as an adolescent inpatient intern at New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Behavioral Health Center and as an outreach intern with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-RI).
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Emma has received advanced training in:
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Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) through the Medical University of South Carolina
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Motivational Interviewing through Boston Medical Center
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Trauma Systems Therapy (TST) through Boston Medical Center
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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for obsessive-compulsive disorder
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She has also completed specialized continuing education and professional trainings, including:
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When the Body Becomes the Obsession: Understanding and Treating Body-Based Obsessions with Evidence-Based Interventions
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OCD in Focus: Diagnosis, Neuroscience, and Evidence-Based Treatment
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Managing Worry & Mental Compulsions: Treatment Strategies for Active Minds
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Clinical Strategies to Address Predictors of Attenuated Outcomes in Pediatric OCD Treatment
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Grand Rounds: Military Cultural Competence
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Emma utilizes CBT, DBT, ERP, and developmentally appropriate interventions in both individual and group settings.
Therapeutic Approach
Emma believes healing happens when clients feel safe, understood, and empowered. She incorporates body-based practices such as breathwork, progressive muscle relaxation, and gentle movement to support nervous system regulation and emotional balance. Her integrative approach helps clients connect more deeply with both emotional experiences and physiological responses, supporting recovery from chronic anxiety, trauma, and dysregulation.
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Emma is committed to creating a warm, collaborative therapeutic environment where clients and families feel supported as they work toward growth, stability, and long-term well-being.
Areas of Specialty
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Anxiety Disorders (OCD, Panic Disorder, GAD, Health Anxiety, Phobias, Agoraphobia)
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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
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Trauma Therapy for Children, Teens, and Young Adults
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Mood Disorders in Children and Adolescents
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Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
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Body-Based & Nervous System Regulation Practices
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Military Children & Family Support
