Getting to know May’s Featured Therapist, Emma Steiner, MSW, LCSW

Every month, Council for Relationships highlights one of our staff therapists on the blog. May’s Featured Therapist Emma Steiner, MSW, LCSW wears many hats at Council for Relationships. Read more in our interview below. 

What is your role at Council for Relationships?

In addition to being a therapist, I am also the Associate Director of Clinical and Business Operations (ADoCBO), and I am a supervisor in our Post-Graduate training program.  I really enjoy the different responsibilities I hold because it allows me to use different parts of myself.  As ADoCBO I oversee the Client Care Department, our therapy groups, our professional development programs, meet and introduce our organization to outside people and organizations, orient our new therapists, write policies and procedures, think about the future of our organization and also hone in on the minutia that illuminates where the organization is right now.  I love supervising budding clinicians because I think it makes me think harder and be a better therapist too.  I also happen to be a graduate of the Post-Grad Program at the Council, so I feel really honored to be supervising in it now.  My clinical work is my passion though, and being a therapist is who I am and who I have always been.

What is something your clients would say about you?

I think my clients would say that they feel deeply cared for by me while I also push them to go to places that are hard and uncomfortable.  I hope they’d also say that I’m funny, but who knows.

What is one piece of advice you would like to give people who may be struggling emotionally and would like to seek counseling but may not be ready?

Many people wrestle with the decision to come to therapy, and it is a big one, I understand.  I think sometimes we think that to say something aloud and to confront it with another person is so much harder than to just keep what we’ve experienced and how we feel locked up inside of us, but I think the truth is that we might not realize how big a toll those unspoken experiences and feelings are taking on us.  No one needs to suffer alone.

What makes CFR special?

In my varied roles, I get to have my hands in many different parts of the Council, which is great because it is an organization that I respect and value immensely!  I think one of the things that make Council such a special place is the high quality and commitment of the therapists and staff.  We are all truly committed to providing therapy to anyone who wants it, educating the next generation of therapists, and we approach our work from a systemic perspective, which means that we are always thinking about people as a part of their many contexts and relationships.  It makes for a much more 3-D approach to caring for people.

What is your dream job?

If I could have any job other than being a therapist, I would be an actress.  I used to act in school and college and I loved it.  I actually think that there are some parallels between being an actress and being a therapist.  When you take on a character you spend a lot of time trying to understand who they are, where they come from, what experiences they might have had that inform how they think, feel and act.  In acting, you make up the backstory to understand and become the character, and as a therapist, you work with the client to help uncover those details.  I think empathy is crucial to being successful in both professions.

 

Emma Steiner, MSW, LCSW
Staff Therapist
Associate Director of Clinical and Business Operations (ADoCBO)
215-382-6680 ext. 4279
esteiner@councilforrelationships.org

Learn more about Emma on her staff profile, or you can make an appointment with Emma by clicking here.