Emili Lair, LMHC, LPCC

Emili is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Iowa and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in the state of Minnesota. Emili received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art with a minor in Religion from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Emili went on to complete her Master of Education degree (M.Ed.) in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, as well as a Community College Teaching Certificate, from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

She worked with college students at a private university for three years as a student affairs professional. During that time, Emili found her passion for working with individuals in one-on-one and small group interactions during this transitional stage of life, as well as through high stress and crisis situations.

The importance of mental health and wellness was very apparent working in the university setting with students at various stages of their college careers and coming from diverse backgrounds. During this stage of her professional career, she was a member of the Iowa Student Personnel Association (ISPA) and served as the chairperson one year for the ISPA Annual Conference. She was trained in Fierce Conversations and became certified as the highest level Fierce Conversations facilitator.

Emili paused her professional career in higher education to return to complete her Master of Arts degree (M.A.) in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at The University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota (CACREP accredited).

She completed her counseling internship in a faith-based, college counseling center. Emili’s first professional experience was through SAMSA’s Project AWARE grant providing therapy in a school-based setting. She has gained experience teaching as an adjunct professor at a community college.

Most recently, Emili worked in a community mental health agency providing therapy to adolescents, adults of all ages, and couples for nearly five years. In addition to her work as a therapist, Emili has worked part-time providing crisis services to individuals and families struggling with mental health crises. Agriculture has been part of Emili’s life since childhood, and she is also passionate about providing access to mental health care in rural, agricultural communities.

She has experience treating individuals struggling with anxiety disorders, all severities of depression, employment issues, chronic health issues, relationship distress, as well post-traumatic stress disorder.

Emili is most passionate about helping individuals struggling to cope with the complexities of grief and loss of all forms, including those struggling to understand the most unimaginable tragedies in life. Emili has also uncovered her interest in the challenge of providing couples counseling to partners wanting to improve communication, addressing ongoing conflict and/or betrayal in relationships, and experiencing new stages of life together.

When you work with Emili, you will find that she utilizes an integrative approach to therapy that starts and ends with person-centered care. Influenced by Carl Rogers, Emili strives to utilize the person-centered approach by focusing on unconditional positive regard, congruence, and empathy. Emili is interested in getting to know you and understanding life through your perspective.

She will often incorporate psychoeducation, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and/or Gottman Methods for couples. She is in the process of completing the first two levels of Gottman Training. Emili has additional training in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Seeking Safety, and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). She also values the use of mindfulness, humor, creativity and music in therapy.

Beyond her professional work, Emili can be found investing into her family relationships, playing with her dog, going to the beach (or dreaming of it all winter long), practicing her cooking skills, reading to unwind her mind, working on passion projects, listening to music or podcasts, and laughing.

Emili is currently a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Iowa Mental Health Counselors Association (IMHCA).

ACA Code of Ethics https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf