Emily Rus, LCSW

My personal journey with invisible illness and chronic pain has taught me how to “move with” circumstances rather than fight against them. Movement and somatic work have become a fundamental part of my life and I am passionate about bringing the lessons I have learned about self-healing, intuition, and mindfulness to others. Learning how to move with grace through challenges is not only possible, but an essential part of experiencing empowerment, vitality, and peace in life.  

In my work, I look at the whole person – your beliefs, routines, health, relationships, sexuality, privilege, work and passions – in order to understand what is truly needed to lead a more fulfilling and connected life.

How I Work

I adapt my approach to each individual and use a combination of somatic therapy practices, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness and meditation. Letting go of patterns that no longer serve us and forging new pathways takes repetition and practice – like any new skill we acquire, the more we practice, the more we see results. Similarly in therapy, the more we practice new ways of being, the more we embody a new sense of self. 

Our work will be a combination of somatic and experiential practices designed to cultivate greater self-awareness and self-healing capacities, in combination with practical skills and actionable tools customized for you so that you can build on what you are learning between sessions. It is important to be able to integrate what we do in therapy into your day to day life and these exercises can help fortify the work you are doing in our sessions.

When we experience trauma (which can look and feel many different ways) it is easy for part of our nervous system to become “stuck” in maladaptive patterns. I use a variety of trauma-informed, somatic practices to ease you into releasing stuck trauma so that new, healthy patterns can be created in your mind, body, and nervous system. 

It’s possible that during this process, challenging and uncomfortable feelings may arise. I will create a safe space where you can explore how to be with and fully process these difficult feelings and sensations as they heal and move. When this occurs, it can free up a great deal of internal space, energy, and motivation that help begin taking action to accomplish your true goals and desires.

In addition to working with anxiety, depression, and relationships, I specialize in chronic health issues, issues connected to sex and sexuality, and anyone looking to find more fulfillment and joy in everyday life. I also have a background in aging and hospice care which gives me an understanding of the difficulties of life transitions as well as processing grief and bereavement.

Feel free to reach out to me for a complementary 15-minute phone consultation where we can explore if we would work well together! 

Office Location(s): Brentwood, Online and Mobile

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) #110979.