Some clinicians choose a specialty. Emily Pagone chose a calling.
With over 12 years of clinical experience and a relentless commitment to the kind of healing that goes all the way down to the root, Emily has built her life’s work around one central conviction: that every person carries within them an innate capacity for wholeness — and that the right therapeutic relationship can help them find their way back to it.
Emily is the Founder and CEO of Authentic Growth Wellness Group (AGWG), a trauma-informed mental health group practice with locations in Hinsdale and Glen Ellyn, Illinois. What began as a singular vision has grown into a thriving community of 15+ skilled clinicians, all united by a shared belief in the dignity, complexity, and resilience of the human spirit.
Emily’s clinical lens is particularly attuned to the experiences of individuals navigating betrayal trauma, neurodivergent families, and the quietly exhausted, high-functioning humans who have spent a lifetime managing everything for everyone — often at the expense of their own inner life.
She knows that behind every overachieving exterior, every carefully held composure, every inner critic that whispers you’re not doing enough — there is a younger part longing to be seen, softened toward, and no longer asked to carry so much alone. That understanding isn’t just clinical theory for Emily. It is the animating force behind everything she creates.
Her work has expanded well beyond the therapy room. She is the host of The Inner Critic Podcast, a platform dedicated to exploring the critical inner voices that shape our lives — and what becomes possible when we learn to meet them differently. She is also the founder of Authentic Growth Education Group, which brings trauma-informed frameworks, IFS concepts, and mental wellness education to broader audiences through workshops, speaking engagements, and professional training. Her vision for the Wellness Hub at AGWG’s Hinsdale location reflects her belief that healing happens not just in one-on-one sessions, but in community, in learning, and in the everyday integration of well-being into ordinary life.
Emily’s writing — including her newsletter and therapeutic workbooks, among them A Life That Holds You, a deeply compassionate resource for over-functioning parents — carries the same voice as her clinical work: warm, precise, spiritually curious, and never condescending to the complexity of a human being trying to grow.
Emily brings to her leadership the same values she brings to clinical work — integrity, discernment, and a willingness to sit with hard questions long enough to find an honest answer. Her Working Genius profile of Discernment and Tenacity is reflected in every layer of AGWG: in the clinicians she attracts, the culture she has cultivated, and the standards she holds for trauma-informed care.
She is a speaker, an educator, a creator, and above all, a deeply human clinician who has never stopped learning — because she believes the work of healing, in ourselves and alongside others, is not a destination. It is a practice. A returning. A becoming.
If you are a prospective client, a clinician seeking consultation, or a collaborator drawn to trauma-informed, IFS-centered work — Emily’s team at AGWG would be honored to connect with you.
Want to learn more about Emily’s work in public speaking or parenting coaching? Visit the Authentic Growth Education website.
Emily lends her expertise to Salon in an in-depth look at seasonal depression. Read the full article.
Emily Pagone is a University-level lecturer and instructor for undergraduates and graduate students. Emily is passionate about crushing mental health stigma and shame, and also passionate about validating and bearing witness to the human experience. Emily is also a “fellow traveler” who also does the personal work with growth and healing.
Listen to Emily on The Nest Podcast by Alexandria Gohla, LCSW – episode linked here.
Please review Emily’s resume and contact her if you’d like to hire her for a speaking engagement at a school, corporation, conference, symposium, facility, or association.
