Emma has been a pioneer in body-mind-spirit wellness for 50 years. She has written 7 books and co-produced two documentary films on topics related to mental health and healing. She has been a teacher in experiential learning for adults since 1985. 

Prior to graduate school, Emma trained with some of the best bio-energetic and neo-Reichian therapists in the San Francisco Bay area, e.g. Stanley Keleman, Anne Dreyfuss, Nadine Scott, Phil Cucuruto, Ed Jackson, MD, William Emerson, PhD and others. Her advanced training in breathwork, bodywork and energy work became central in her understanding of  how to support personal growth and wellness. Her facilitation of group breathwork in the 1980s was sponsored by her graduate school to benefit the community.

From 1985-1992 Emma also dedicated herself to writing about and forwarding spiritual development. She volunteered at the Spiritual Emergence Network (SEN) for 7 years, editing their journal and newsletter, and coordinating two invited conferences at Esalen Institute for them.   Stanislav Grof, MD & Christina Grof, founders of SEN, attended along with other psychologists, spiritual teachers, individuals with life experience, and the psychic, Anne Armstrong. Emma’s PhD dissertation on “How to Support Someone in Spiritual Emergency” was inspired by these gatherings.  Stanislav Grof, MD’s pioneering work continues to be a profound source of inspiration for her.

By 1988 Emma was licensed as a Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, had earned her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology, and specialized in private practice around issues of Spiritual Emergency. She continues to coach individuals online from all continents in the world as well as consulting with organizations regarding identifying and managing spiritual emergency.

From 1990-2001 Emma taught 9-day experiential courses in personal development. From 2001-2012 she traveled widely in her field research and focused on Spiritist Community Centers and Spiritist Psychiatric Hospitals in Brazil because they provide an effective, 120 year old model of integrative healthcare for all economic levels, cooperating with requirements for government funding as needed for inpatient care. The Brazilian Spiritists are very successful in recognizing and managing spiritual emergency — having developed their effective protocols for more than 100 years.

In 2012 the President of the Spiritist Psychiatric Hospital in Goiania, Brazil asked Emma to be their “ambassador” to non-Brazilians. She has since that time been facilitating seminars for health providers to visit the hospital, experience the  Spiritist therapies offered,  and learn from her and her Brazilian associates-the psychiatrists and spiritual healers who collaborate there and at other Spiritist Community Centers in Goiania. 

In her role as Founder & Executive Director Emma has developed IMHU since its inception in May, 2013. It is currently self-sustaining, aligned with its mission, purpose and values, offering the wisdom of a stellar faculty, and independent of special interests. She is active as a teacher of some of IMHU’s online courses and is available as a coach.