Emily C. Courtney, Psy.D. began working with children in the mental health field over fourteen years ago while obtaining her B.A. at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Here she worked with young female children and adolescents who had been placed in residential treatment facilities due to behavioral problems and high recidivism with truancy and criminal activity. During her Masters and Doctoral education, Dr. Courtney worked with elementary aged children in the schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other community-based locations in San Diego and surrounding areas. She relocated to Texas where she worked with children and their families inside the home throughout Collin County in North Texas, which provided her an amazing opportunity to experience the dynamics of home life and environment on behavior and functioning.
Due to her rich and diverse experiences working with children and their families, her techniques are rooted in the belief that children are amazingly adaptable and capable. The families of these children are resilient beyond their own comprehension, and her work utilizes the innate strengths of families to help them work beyond life’s inevitable obstacles, and on to a stronger functioning family.
Academically and professionally, Dr. Courtney has given lectures in several areas of her expertise such as: Efficacy of CBT/DBT Treatments for the Troubled Personality, Etiology and Treatment for Self-Mutilation, Treatment of Delusional Disorders with Paranoid or Narcissistic Personalities, Psychotherapy and Humor for Death Anxiety, Death Wishes and Aging, East-West Psychologies and their Efficacies, as well as co-instructing a graduate-level experiential seminar on Creative and Narrative Therapies. Dr. Courtney is relishing the opportunity to represent the Tarnow Center through community outreach seminars, articles, and blogs on self-management and an array of other pertinent subjects.