Dr. Emily Zhang is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Boston Child Study Center. She provides Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and trauma-focused treatment under the supervision of Dr. Ryan Madigan and Dr. Brian Denietolis. Dr. Zhang has worked with adolescents, young adults, and families facing a range of complex emotional and behavioral challenges, including anxiety, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, trauma, substance use, and psychosis. She believes meaningful change begins within the therapeutic relationship and approaches each person with curiosity, warmth, and acceptance. She collaborates closely with young people and their caregivers to work towards what matters most to them, taking a flexible approach that is tailored to each person’s strengths, developmental stage, and family and cultural contexts.
Dr. Zhang received her Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Community Health and Master’s degree in Child Study and Human Development from Tufts University before earning her PhD in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. She completed her predoctoral internship with the Massachusetts Mental Health Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School, where she worked with emerging young adults and individuals receiving ongoing care through the Department of Mental Health (DMH). During her doctoral training, she also spent three years at the CEDAR Clinic, a coordinated specialty care clinic for adolescents and young adults at clinical high risk for psychosis, and completed a practicum at the Simmons University Counseling Center. Throughout her training in community mental health and outpatient settings, she gained extensive experience in individual, family, and group therapy; comprehensive psychological assessment; and close collaboration with schools, hospitals, and public service agencies to support young people with complex mental health needs.
Dr. Zhang’s doctoral research explored how survivors of intimate partner violence navigate disclosure and help-seeking within their communities. In her free time, she enjoys birdwatching, a good horror movie, and hanging out with her pit bull rescue, Sugar Pie.