Emily Materdo, LCSW

Emily Materdo is an LCSW with 13 years of clinical and medical social work experience. She focuses on anxiety, stress, trauma and abuse, bipolar disorder, depression, and compassion fatigue. Emily takes a practical, down-to-earth approach so people can notice small changes quickly.

Emily works in a collaborative, person-centered way. She helps people set realistic goals and breaks those goals into clear, manageable steps. Sessions emphasize what is useful right now and build skills to manage mood, worry, and overwhelming stress.

Her work draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, attachment-based ideas, and client-centered practice. She helps people notice unhelpful patterns of thought and behavior, practice new ways of coping, and strengthen connections to what matters most to them.

Emily has particular experience with chronic health problems, caregiver stress, and the emotional impact of serious illness. She also supports people dealing with family of origin issues, abandonment, codependency, communication problems, and grief around hospice or end-of-life situations.

Sessions are offered in English and are provided from North Carolina. Emily works with people at different life stages, including those managing mood disorders, young adults facing life transitions, and older adults coping with aging or disability challenges.

Her aim is to create an inviting space where people feel heard and can try things that help. Emily guides practical steps, teaches coping skills, and helps people practice self-compassion as they move toward clearer goals.

Therapeutic approaches and online options that fit your life

Emily integrates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in a way that focuses on practical changes. CBT helps people notice and shift unhelpful thoughts and behaviors so mood and anxiety become easier to manage. ACT emphasizes values and committed action, helping people live toward what matters even when feelings are difficult.

She also uses attachment-informed ideas to help people understand patterns in relationships and to build more reliable ways of connecting with others. Together these approaches give both skills and insight, and she works with each person to choose what feels most useful. Finding the right mix is part of the process and she collaborates with clients to match methods to individual goals and preferences.

Online therapy is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care more flexible. Video is useful for deeper conversations and skills practice, phone works well if bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins, and text or chat can fit into busy days for brief updates or homework support. These options help people access therapy around work, caregiving, or health needs while keeping the focus on practical progress.