Emily Pagone, LCPC, NCC, PMH-C

04/01/2026

Meet Miss Snickers — the newest (and shortest) member of our family; and, eventually, our care team at Authentic Growth Wellness Group. 🐾

This little Pembroke Welsh Corgi just started puppy school and obedience training — and watching her learn to settle on her place board, to stay when every part of her wants to wiggle toward the next adventure… it hit me.

Because isn’t that the work we’re all doing?

Learning to stay present when our nervous systems want to bolt. Practicing new patterns even when the old ones feel easier. Showing up again and again, trusting that something is being built — even when the process feels slow.

After obedience, she’ll begin therapy dog training so she can one day sit beside our clients at AGWG — offering the kind of co-regulation that doesn’t need a single word.

There’s something sacred about a tiny creature learning, from the very beginning, that her purpose is connection.

We’re so proud of you already, sweet girl. 💛

03/21/2026

Your nervous system doesn’t need you to push through the season.

It needs you to move with it.

Spring brings more light, more activation, more energy moving through your body. And if you’ve been feeling restless, agitated, or like your anxiety is creeping up - that’s NOT a sign something is “wrong” with you.

It’s your body responding to the shift.

The invitation isn’t to power through or “get it together.”

It’s to give that energy somewhere safe to land.

🌿 Try this today: 5 minutes barefoot on grass. Feel your weight drop. Notice what shifts.

Your body already knows how to do this. You just have to let it.

💛 Save this for the next time spring feels like too much.

innercriticwork emilypagone

12/03/2025

10/09/2025

02/22/2025

📣Exciting Announcement! I’m honored to be speaking at the HERStory Conference, an event dedicated to empowering and uplifting women and teen girls.

I can’t wait to share my insights on ✨‘Tools for Emotional Resilience’✨ and connect with an incredible community.

Join us all on Saturday, March 8th at NIU Naperville for a day of inspiration and transformation!

🎟️Tickets are still available. Copy + paste below link in your browser to register!
https://lnkd.in/gNiepinN

🚨Do NOT miss out!🚨
  Beautifully EmpowHERed

11/23/2024

Last night was a dream! Great work | for such an incredibly empowering event. Seeing the life-changing and inspiring work you’re doing at the grassroots in Illinois for women’s empowerment is powerful ti witness and an honor to be a part of as a Partner!

The way ahead is together - fixing each others’ crowns - persisting ahead together for healing, light, and lifting up one another. ⭐️✨

10/01/2024

Excited to share something we’ve been working on. Stay tuned to see the IFS-inspired mental wellness / emotional healing resources and offerings we will have available soon! Follow along with us.

🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣loughlin

09/15/2024

🪴🙏🏼Our own healing becomes a legacy gift to the collective🌱✨

🌦️Authentic growth is the way towards discovering your healthy, whole Self. 🌻

09/15/2024

In Internal Family Systems (IFS) - and in general, no matter the approach - it is vital for healers (helpers, therapists, providers) to engage in ongoing personal healing to stay connected to their Self—the core of curiosity, confidence, connectedness, creativity, courage, compassion, clarity, and calmness. This work involves helpers + providers also doing the personal work of unblending from Parts to ensure unresolved wounds do not impact client sessions - we call this addressing “Trailheads” via The Therapist “U-Turn”.

This weekend, I was honored to have been able to attend a retreat for helpers/therapists/healers that focused on addressing Legacy and Cultural Burdens—deep-seated beliefs and traumas passed down through generations and shaped by cultural contexts. For IFS practitioners, working through these burdens is crucial for deepening Self-leadership and ensuring they do not inadvertently project these unhealed parts within their work with clients (or personal connections). By continually unburdening these layers, helpers + providers maintain a grounded, Self-led presence, which is essential for creating a safe, unbiased therapeutic environment.

This personal work allows practitioners to model Self-leadership, cultivate deeper empathy, and avoid the “healer’s bypass,” where one might focus on healing others to avoid their own pain. Regular self-reflection and healing work help practitioners embody IFS principles, sustain effective client relationships, and prevent their own legacy and cultural burdens from influencing their therapeutic role.

I’m so grateful to have been able to attend this incredible retreat with Kay Gardner, hosted by / Jaclyn Long, MFT 🙏🏼
Thankful to have been able to experience deeper healing amongst the redwood trees with other helpers, healers, humans also doing their part to heal their burdens w/ the assistance of Self’s guidance, and the healing of the collective.

One’s own healing contributes to the healing of the collective. 🪴🌱