Specialties & Therapeutic Approach
Dr. Emily Rowe is a clinical psychologist specializing in trauma-informed care and the treatment of both acute and complex PTSD. She offers individual therapy and psychological evaluation to adults in North Carolina. She is passionate about helping clients navigate traumatic life experiences, identity exploration, and existential concerns, such as role transitions, faith-related crises, and climate anxiety. Dr. Rowe has a particular focus on LGBTQ-affirmative care and working with adult survivors of childhood abuse, individuals harmed in religious environments/religious trauma, and those navigating boundaries with or coping with alienation from their family of origin. Across a range of presenting concerns, Dr. Rowe embraces a collaborative, curious, and flexible approach in her work.
Dr. Rowe’s work is grounded in evidence-based, third-wave cognitive-behavioral approaches—such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Compassion-Focused Therapy—tailoring her approach to the unique needs and preferences of each client. She emphasizes a balance of radical acceptance and meaningful change, incorporating dialectics, mindfulness, and strengths-based practices. Dr. Rowe recognizes how an individual’s context, or broader environment, can influence their beliefs about themselves, other people, and the future, keeping them “trapped” in painful cycles of behavior that don’t align with their values. Thus, she is especially attuned to the cultural, political, spiritual, and familial dimensions of trauma and how these larger dynamics can shape personal struggles. Dr. Rowe’s therapeutic approach centers developing psychological flexibility and engaging more intentionally with what truly matters. Using an empowerment-focused lens, Dr. Rowe prioritizes fostering a genuine, compassionate, and honest therapeutic relationship where clients can process painful experiences, address shame and guilt, embrace self-compassion, identify unhelpful patterns, and explore new ways of coping with distress, reclaiming a sense of personal agency, and purpose. In addition to therapy, she provides psychological evaluations for diagnostic clarification, PTSD-related concerns, and adult ADHD assessment.
Education & Experience
Dr. Rowe obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Women and Gender Studies from University of North Carolina Wilmington, and obtained a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Appalachian State University where she studied the effects of religious fundamentalism on stigmatizing attitudes about mental illness. She obtained her Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology from Western Carolina University, completing her dissertation project on evangelical purity culture, trauma-related shame, and complex PTSD presentations in cisgender women and individuals who identify as transgender and/or non-binary. Dr. Rowe completed full-time post-master’s training and subsequent employment at an intensive DBT center, providing outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization treatment for trauma-exposed, chronically suicidal and self-harming individuals. After completing her doctoral studies, she was selected for pre-doctoral internship at Aurora Mental Health & Recovery in Aurora, CO, where she specialized in working with individuals with severe and persistent mental illness and refugee-specific mental healthcare, such as providing PTSD treatment for refugees and asylum seekers, supporting clients’ transition to the U.S., receiving training in Islamic Trauma Healing, and conducting psychological evaluations to support refugees and immigrants in obtaining citizenship.
Dr. Rowe has conducted independent research on topics such as religious fundamentalism, evangelical purity culture, complex PTSD, trauma-related shame, and mental health stigma, especially concerning women and LGBTQ-identified individuals. She has published her work in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and presented her research at both regional and international trauma-focused conferences, including on transdiagnostic mechanisms related to PTSD diagnosis/treatment, differential diagnosis in trauma-exposed individuals, and the impact of repeated traumatic experiences on PTSD outcomes.
Dr. Rowe has worked across a range of clinical settings, including community mental health centers, private practices, and academic psychology clinics. She has extensive didactic training in DBT and experience in providing full-model DBT and DBT-informed treatment in outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization programs. Additionally, she has a strong background in crisis intervention and the treatment of suicidality, self-harm, and psychosis. Dr. Rowe has a depth of training in trauma-specific treatment for individuals who have experienced multiple traumatic events, including survivors of childhood abuse, interpersonal violence, political violence and terrorism, combat exposure, gun violence, sexual assault, and abuse by religious authorities.
Her expertise in evidence-based psychotherapies includes:
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
- Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR)
- Narrative Therapy
Additional Trainings
Along with her foundational training and experience in DBT and ACT, Dr. Rowe has received additional training and education in several specific evidence-based treatments for the treatment of PTSD and trauma-related concerns. Along with training in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and STAIR Narrative Therapy, Dr. Rowe completed an intensive workshop in Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD through the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. She has received training in Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) and provided training to other clinicians on means restriction counseling. Dr. Rowe was awarded the CAMS Trained signifier from CAMS-care, which reflects her completion of education and ongoing consultation with specialists in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicide.
Professional Memberships
Dr. Rowe is an active member of several professional organizations, reflecting her commitment to staying at the forefront of clinical practice and research:
- Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
- International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
- North Carolina Psychological Association
- Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
