Counseling for Women After Divorce in charlotte, NC
Online therapy with Dr. emily fornwalt
Photo Credits: Valeris Nikitina; Unsplash
“i feel so alone.”
“i can’t do this by myself anymore.”
“what’s next?”
Months after the divorce..
you’re still waiting for the part where you feel like you again.
You’ve done everything right since the divorce: new apartment or maybe you kept the house, new routines for the kids, new budget, new schedule, new passwords on every account. You’ve rebuilt the infrastructure of your life in Charlotte from the ground up, and from the outside, it looks like you’ve landed on your feet.
But nothing feels permanent yet. You’re going through the motions of a life that doesn’t quite feel like yours, waiting for the moment when it clicks into place, when you stop feeling like a guest in your own house and start feeling like someone who chose to be here.
The divorce itself was hard, but this part is harder in ways you didn’t anticipate. At least during the divorce there was momentum, things to do, decisions to make, people to call. Now the dust has settled, and what’s left is quieter and less clear: the slow, unglamorous work of figuring out who you are when the life you planned is no longer the life you have.
Divorce grief doesn’t follow a schedule.
People around you have moved on from your divorce, even if you haven’t. Your family stopped asking how you’re doing. Your friends have shifted back to talking about their own lives, which is normal, but it leaves you feeling like there’s an expiration date on how long you’re allowed to struggle.
So you keep it to yourself. You smile at school drop-off, you crush it at work, you make sure the kids have everything they need. And then you sit in the car before going inside, or you stare at the ceiling at midnight, or you cry in the shower on a random Wednesday because something small reminded you of something big.
Maybe you’ve noticed your fuse is shorter with the kids than it used to be, or that you’ve been avoiding social situations that used to come easily. Maybe you’ve looked into therapy in Charlotte but couldn’t figure out who would understand what you’re going through, because you’re not falling apart. You’re just tired in a way that sleep doesn’t fix.
The exhaustion from the divorce runs deeper than you think
Your nervous system spent years adapting to your marriage, learning its rhythms, reading its moods, bracing for its hard moments. That adaptation didn’t end when the divorce was finalized. Your body is still running the old software, scanning for threats that aren’t there anymore, staying on alert in a life that no longer requires it.
That’s why you can’t seem to relax, even when everything is technically fine. That’s why a co-parenting email can ruin your whole afternoon, or why you feel a jolt of adrenaline when you see a missed call from your ex, even when it turns out to be about something small. The divorce changed your circumstances, but your body hasn’t caught up.
How we work together during all stages of your divorce process
If you’ve tried therapy before and it helped you make sense of things intellectually but didn’t shift the heaviness or the reactivity, there’s a reason for that. The patterns that keep you exhausted and on edge after divorce live in your body, not just your thoughts.
We work with your nervous system directly, paying attention to what happens physically when you talk about something hard, the held breath, the tension in your shoulders, the knot in your stomach when co-parenting comes up. When those deeper patterns start to release, you feel the difference at home, at work, and with your kids, not just in our sessions.
Life after divorce in Charlotte: what six months from now could feel like.
It’s a Saturday morning and you don’t have the kids. Instead of rattling around the house feeling guilty or restless, you drove to NoDa for coffee and brought a book. You read for an hour without checking your phone, and when you left, you felt something you haven’t felt in a long time: unhurried.
Your ex asked to swap weekends, and you handled it in two texts. No adrenaline spike, no three-hour mental rehearsal, just a conversation between two people coordinating schedules. You moved on with your evening.
Last week your daughter had a hard day and instead of trying to fix it or panicking about whether the divorce caused it, you sat with her on the couch and let her talk. You didn’t rush to reassure or redirect. You were steady, and she felt it.
You redecorated the bedroom last month. Not because you needed to erase your ex, but because you wanted to wake up in a room that felt like yours. You picked the paint color without asking anyone’s opinion, and that small act of choosing felt bigger than it should have.
A colleague asked you to lunch and you said yes without overthinking it. You talked about your work, your weekend plans, a show you’ve been watching. Normal things. And on the drive home you realized that “normal” has started to feel like your life again, not a performance of one.
our sessions will be
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Collaborative: We will work together. Here’s at least one thing you’re not gonna be handling all on your own.
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Encouraging: Even if you can’t name them right now, I know you have strengths. You might roll your eyes when I point them out (I’ll allow it.).
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Real: I'll tell you the truth; you’ve got no time for therapy games where someone sounds like a cliché. You got that on your last Netflix binge.
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Fun: I can pretty much guarantee some laughs. You can demand more humor if needed, because I know you could use that break.
i’m Emily.
About dr. emily fornwalt
Therapist for women who are divorced in durham, nC
I'm a therapist licensed in North Carolina (LCMHC-S; #S6459), and I have a PhD in counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
I work with women in Charlotte and across North Carolina who are navigating life after divorce, specifically women who are used to being organized, capable, and in control, and who are now in a season where all that competence can’t quite reach the thing that’s weighing them down.
I have advanced training in attachment, the nervous system, and how relationships shape the brain, which means our work together goes deeper than traditional talk therapy while still feeling grounded and practical. I’m licensed in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia and registered to provide telehealth in South Carolina, too.
If you’d like to learn more about me than can fit in a short blurb, please explore the link below.
Online therapy for women after divorce in charlotte, NC
I practice 100% via telehealth, which means you can do this work from wherever you are in North Carolina, whether that’s Charlotte, Huntersville, Concord, or anywhere across the greater Charlotte area and beyond. No commute, no waiting room, no rearranging a schedule that’s already stretched thin.
Sessions are 45 minutes at $225. I am an out-of-network provider.
You’ve been rebuilding your life after divorce long enough on your own. Let’s work together to make it feel like yours.
Schedule your first session using the link below
Complete intake paperwork (submit 24 hours before your appointment)
First session focus: Comprehensive assessment of your professional stress patterns, relationship dynamics, and therapy goals
Ongoing work: Weekly 45-minute sessions focusing on transforming your relationship with achievement and success
Schedule Your First Session:
Booking Page | Call/Text: 423.281.4098 | Email: emily@alignedcounseling.com
Other areas served via telehealth in North Carolina:
Raleigh • Durham • Greensboro • Chapel Hill • Cary • Apex • Huntersville • Concord • Gastonia • Mooresville
and all areas throughout North Carolina.
Faqs
Do I need to live in Charlotte to work with you?
Nope. I practice 100% online, so you can work with me from anywhere in North Carolina. Many of my clients are in the Charlotte metro area, including Huntersville, Concord, and Mooresville, but I also see women across the state. All you need is a private space and a reliable internet connection.
How is your approach different from therapy I’ve tried before?
If you’ve tried therapy before and it felt like you were doing the work but nothing was shifting at a deeper level, there’s a reason for that. Sometimes the patterns keeping you stuck live in your body, not just your thoughts. I’m trained in AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) and interpersonal neurobiology, which means we work with your nervous system and emotional responses directly, not just the story you tell about them. In practical terms, that looks like slowing down in the moments where you’d normally push through, noticing what’s happening physically when a topic comes up, and letting your body process what your mind has been trying to manage alone. Clients often tell me they feel a difference within the first few sessions, not because I gave them a new tool, but because something shifted that they can’t quite put words to yet.
What does a session look like?
We meet via a secure video platform for 45 minutes. Some sessions we’ll focus on something specific that came up during the week, a co-parenting conflict, a decision you’re stuck on, a moment where old feelings got triggered. Other sessions we’ll go deeper into the patterns underneath those moments. I’ll check in with you about what’s happening in your body as we talk, and sometimes I’ll ask you to slow down and stay with a feeling rather than move past it. It’s not scripted, and I won’t give you homework unless it makes sense. The pace is yours.
How long does therapy take?
It depends on what you’re working through and what you want to get out of it. Some women come in during the acute crisis of divorce and work with me for several months. Others start therapy after the dust has settled and they realize they’re still carrying more than they want to. I don’t believe in keeping people in therapy longer than they need to be. We’ll talk openly about how things are going and when it makes sense to shift to less frequent sessions or wrap up.
I’m not sure I’m “divorced enough” for this. I’m still in the process.
You don’t need to be on the other side of it to start this work. Many of the women I see are still in the thick of it, navigating custody arrangements, dealing with attorneys, figuring out finances, and trying to hold themselves together while everything is in flux. In some ways, that’s when this work is most valuable, because the decisions you’re making right now will shape what your life looks like on the other side.
Logistics…
Here you can find detailed instructions on how to get started working together, how we proceed, and what you can expect.
First, important things to note:
I only work exclusively online and no in-person appointments are available.
I am not in network with any insurance plans and do not provide documentation for out-of-network reimbursement. There are many reasons for this, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
I offer primarily 45/50-minute sessions at a rate of $225 per session. If you’d like 60-minute sessions, please ask about my current availability. Initial sessions are 90 minutes and are $450.
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For intake sessions, I am available Mondays-Thursdays from 10:00-5:00. I am available for ongoing sessions Tuesdays-Thursdays from 10:00-5:00. I do not have evening or weekend availability. With regard to ongoing session availability, I cannot guarantee the availability of specific times or days based on openings you may see in my online calendar; availability there does indicate recurring availability. One of my values is to have some schedule flexibility for current clients so that when they need to make schedule adjustments, I am more likely to be able to do so. As such, an available slot does not equal the ability to put a regularly occurring appointment in that slot. If you have specific schedule needs, please reach out to confirm that I’d be able to accommodate them prior to completing an initial session.
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Once you have decided that you’d like to proceed with scheduling with me, you can mosey over and check out my lovely contact page. Here you can click the “Schedule your first session” button located at the center of the page. This will take you to my self-scheduling option. This allows you to look over my calendar and select a time that works for you. You can schedule up to 3 weeks in advance, as long as you are at least 3 days before the date you’d like to choose. It’s important to note that this first session will be a longer (90-minute) intake session.
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Scheduling in my online calendar will send a request for the specific appointment you’ve selected and reserve it for you. I typically confirm appointments within 24 hours, excluding weekends, holidays, and times I am out of the office on vacation. After I confirm your appointment, you will receive an email from Sessions Health.
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After you receive the confirmation, keep an eye out for three more emails. (I know! I bet you already get plenty, but I promise we just have to do this stuff once!) You will get an email welcoming you to therapy and outlining what you can expect; this will come directly from me. In addition, you will get one from Sessions Health and Aligned Counseling and Supervision; this contains your invitation to the client portal; this is where you will complete all required paperwork, which I need back 24 hours prior to our scheduled time in order to keep your appointment and avoid automatic cancellation. Finally, you will get an appointment “reminder” that will contain your telehealth link.
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Once you’ve set up portal access, you will have just three documents to review and sign. Please note that you can sign out and progress will be saved. You may want to set aside a little time to really read these over as they have a good bit of information relevant to our work together. Documents include: the informed consent, the HIPAA privacy practices, and information about my policies for electronic communication. Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me. After signing those you will have some demographic questions and the opportunity to tell me just a bit about what brings you to therapy.
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Once you have set up your portal and I have a phone number, keep an eye out for a text from IvyPay. This is where you will enter your credit card information for me to charge for your sessions. I use IvyPay so that I don't have to personally handle any of your credit card information. IvyPay is a third-party HIPAA-compliant payment processor that takes care of it for me.
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Most clients are nervous the first time they attend counseling, even if it's just the first time with a new person. If you’ve never been before, you may not know what to expect and may have many TV or movie references for what it’s like. Trust me, they’re probably inaccurate. You may think you’re required to tell me ALL the things or that I will ask probing questions to get to the root of everything. That’s not what happens either. We will still be getting to know each other. In our first session, I will gather information about your concerns, the history, what you’d like to get out of counseling, and any other things you think are relevant. We will get a general idea of direction, but it will take us time to get to know each other. This one is a little different from the others, as a lot of our time will be spent getting me up to speed on your life and concerns. Things shift after that…stay tuned.
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It’s important to know that the completion of this initial session is not a guarantee of working together. If it ends up not working, I will do my best to help you find another provider to meet your needs. A few things that might result in us not working together include, but are not limited to:
You decide that we are not a good fit.
I am not the most appropriate person to help you with your specific needs.
You need a specific time slot and it is not available. (Avoid this by checking with me ahead of time!)
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Once you are ready to move forward, we will get your regular appointments set up. You will be scheduled for the same recurring time slot. These are either weekly or bi-weekly depending on your needs and availability. As we get to know each other during sessions, we will determine how we will know if things are getting better. I imagine that you have checked out who I am throughout my website, so you probably already know the following info. However, it’s probably worth saying again that I very much value talking explicitly with my clients about their experience of therapy with me, rather than assuming I know what they are feeling or experiencing, or what's best for them. This means I'll regularly ask you about what is going well in our therapy work together and if there's anything we should do differently. I am not a highly directive therapist, so our sessions will focus on what you need to get out of them each time. I provide some prompts about what we’ve been exploring or your general goals, but invite you to settle in and consider how we can take care of you in our session that day.
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When we get to a point where you’re feeling confident in what you’ve learned and are practicing, we can discuss reducing frequency (if you started weekly) or wrapping up altogether. There may be the option to reduce from bi-weekly to monthly sessions, but these are available only on a case-by-case basis, scheduled week-of, and cannot be guaranteed.
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Please feel free to email me! I usually respond within 24 hours Mondays-Fridays.
Book your session
because, at the end of the day:
you—with your zoomy brain, heavy heart, & tired soul—deserve peace.
Still Have Questions?
Contact Me
Please complete this form and I’ll be back in touch via email or text usually within 1 business day.
Call or Text
423.281.4089
emily@alignedcounseling.com
office mailing address
404 S Roan St., Johnson City, TN, 37604