My Therapist Extorted $126,000, Controlled My Life, and Almost Destroyed Me

This is how professional therapy became the perfect cover for psychological abuse.

This post reflects my personal lived experience. All events are documented through verifiable communications, contracts, and official reports. This story includes allegations that have been reported to state and legal authorities.

There’s a moment when psychological warfare breaks you so completely that death feels like the only escape hatch. I reached that point in 2024 countless times — trapped in a labyrinth of manipulation, blackmail, and financial extortion engineered by the one person who had sworn to heal me: my therapist.

This isn’t a story about therapy gone wrong. This is about calculated predation hiding behind a professional license. This is about how a person with an LLP credential weaponized five years of my vulnerabilities against me and extracted over $126,000 through systematic psychological torture.

And this is about how I survived.

“What I didn’t realize: she was methodically documenting every weakness, every insecurity, every pressure point that could later be exploited.”

The Perfect Setup

For five years, from late 2018 to April 2023, I sat across from Doctor Emily Ann Davis, a Limited Licensed Psychologist (LLP), pouring out my deepest traumas, fears, and vulnerabilities. I originally went to see her to get myself sober. I discussed my battles with alcoholism, my career anxieties, my relationship patterns, and childhood traumas — including the sexual abuse I’d endured for 5–6 years as a child. I trusted her completely. That’s what you’re supposed to do in therapy, right?

Emily Davis, Limited Licensed Psychologist, Troy, MI, 48084 | Psychology Today

The billing records tell their own story. From September 22, 2018 to April 13, 2023, I paid for 303 therapy sessions. That’s 303 hours of me sitting across from her, pouring out my deepest wounds, while she took notes that would later become her blueprint for destruction.

What I didn’t realize: she was methodically documenting every weakness, every insecurity, every pressure point that could later be exploited. Every confession about my ADHD struggles, every story about past relationships, every detail about my family dynamics — all became ammunition in her arsenal.

In 2022, she conducted a formal neuropsychological evaluation that diagnosed me with ADHD, Combined Presentation, and confirmed my existing PTSD diagnosis. That evaluation — which I’ve since obtained — reads like an intelligence dossier. She documented my fidgeting, my difficulty with follow-through, my memory issues from trauma, my tendency to work in short bursts, my need for external accountability. She noted how I’d forget basic self-care without reminders, how I struggled with time perception, how I’d been parentified as a child when my father’s mental health crisis left our family homeless.

The evaluation wasn’t just a diagnosis — it was an intelligence dossier. Every ADHD symptom documented became a pressure point. Every trauma response mapped became a button to push. She didn’t just know I had ADHD — she had a 8-page clinical document detailing exactly how my brain worked and how to exploit it.

Every detail. Every vulnerability. Every button she could push.

The spring of 2023 delivered the perfect storm she’d been waiting for and creating. I was wrongfully terminated from my position at a major financial institution, leaving me professionally devastated and financially vulnerable. To make matters worse, my termination triggered a U5 filing with FINRA that threatened my entire future in finance — a career I’d worked relentlessly to build.

“I’m here for you,” Doctor Emily said, inviting me to her Berkley home under the guise of extra support. “Let me help you navigate this.”

Help. That’s a fucking interesting word for what came next.

The Workplace Nightmare That Left Me Vulnerable

Before diving into the manipulation that nearly destroyed me, you need to understand what set the stage. The months leading up to my termination were a masterclass in workplace toxicity.

My manager Tom consistently undermined me despite my being a top performer for two years running. During early discussions about my performance, he told me I was “only good at a few things” and refused to provide constructive feedback. Just vague statements like “there’s a ton of work for you to still do.”

When I disclosed my ADHD diagnosis (which Doctor Emily herself had diagnosed through formal psychological testing), asking for clearer instructions and explanations of multi-step processes, Tom dismissed it entirely: “Yeah well, I probably have it too, I get distracted sometimes too.” No accommodations were ever discussed. This during the same month my employer held their “Neurodivergent Awareness Week.”

His income-based harassment was relentless:

• “I wish I was making what you’re making when I was your age”

• “You should be pretty comfortable at the income you’re making”

• “We are probably going to retire at the same time”

When I asked specific questions about advancement to VPFC, he’d never give clear answers. Just vague bullshit like “it’s not about the numbers, I’m never going to get upset with you if you don’t have good results. We are more apt to go to bat for you with Randy if you have the conversations in the right way.” But he refused to clarify what “the right way” meant.

Even worse, my assigned coach Scott Rentz repeatedly invited me to “grab a beer” despite my explicitly telling him I was in recovery from alcoholism. Multiple times:

• “We should get a drink”

• “We should talk about this over a beer”

• “You should grab a beer this weekend and read this”

When I finally reported this to Tom, he simply dismissed it: “Well that’s just how Scott is. Maybe I can join in to keep you guys on task.”

Scott’s teaching style was deliberately obstructive. He’d join appointments and derail them. During our meetings, he’d be on his computer typing, responding to my questions with blanket responses like “that’s spot-on man” even when completely incongruent. Once he had me prepare a 7-minute presentation for a team meeting, made me practice twice, then shocked me by announcing “Taymore, you have 30 seconds, go!”

When I shared pride in my previous year’s success, Scott’s response? “Man that was last season. That doesn’t matter.” He’d constantly tell me to “protect my brand” and “don’t rock the boat” while regaling me with stories of his own success and minimizing every accomplishment I achieved.

The “process” they demanded I follow was a moving target. I’d ask for clarity, see different advisors doing things differently, and when I’d point out discrepancies, Tom would say “they cover everything in their process with this process” — never explaining what the fuck that meant. Other coworkers later confirmed they weren’t held to the same exacting, micromanaged standards I was subjected to.

In January 2023, things escalated. During a conversation about Scott’s teaching methods, Tom interrupted me to ask what one of my random client’s son’s name was. When I said I didn’t care because it wasn’t relevant to that day’s appointment, he responded: “Then why do you think you deserve to do business with him? Why do you think he should do business with you?”

When I requested a new manager the next day — citing his condescending communication and false documentation of our conversations — he offered a meeting with himself, Scott, and Mike “if I was worried about the things that were being said.” That’s when I realized he was building a false case against me.

The retaliation was swift. The day after filing my HR complaint on January 25th, I received a lunch invitation from the Branch Office Manager to “celebrate, acknowledge, discuss, and learn from Taymore’s progress/journey.” The timing was no coincidence.

At that lunch, they grilled me about my income goals. When I mentioned wanting to advance to VPFC, they asked:

• “Why do you want to make more money?”

• “What would you do with that extra income?”

• “How would you spend your money?”

Then Mike dropped this gem: “I asked Scott if anyone could become VPFC if they weren’t following the process and Scott said there was no way.”

The message was clear: fall in line or get fucked.

In February, Tom sent me a confusing email about the “Promotional Retail Communication policy.” When I asked for clarification, he canceled our meeting last minute. During a hasty restaurant conversation, he told me I just needed to “change the language to be more neutral” in my emails. I specifically asked if there was a limit to the number of emails I could send. He said no limit, just change the wording.

I thought I was compliant. He’d deliberately misled me.

On March 27th, Ann Marie from HR called me at 5:10 PM, telling me I was being placed on leave for “a couple days” due to “concerns with process and compliance.” I was locked out of all systems immediately.

The next day, Tom told coworkers: “Cody is on leave. If someone is on leave, they are not allowed to come into the office. You need to let management know if they come in.” This wasn’t done for anyone else on leave. A security guard appeared in the office.

On March 29th, Ann Marie called: “The management team has decided to part ways with you with concerns around performance, compliance, process.”

When I asked for specifics, she mentioned emails needing “9/10 approval” — the very issue Tom had told me was resolved by changing the wording. They’d set me up. Used my ADHD need for clarity against me. Created a moving target I could never hit.

This professional betrayal left me with zero income, mounting bills, and a potentially career-ending U5 form hanging over my head.

It was in this moment of maximum vulnerability that my therapist saw her opportunity.

“Looking back, the red flags were blinding. But when you’re drowning and someone offers a hand, you don’t inspect it for weapons.”

The Transition from Healer to Handler

Within weeks of my termination, Doctor Emily proposed transitioning our relationship beyond therapy — a “personal connection” that would give me the “unconventional support” I needed. Professional boundaries? Ethics? Those were inconvenient obstacles to her plan.

I had told her I could no longer afford therapy sessions due to my financial strain. My income had dropped to zero. My 401k was my only cushion. Rather than referring me to lower-cost options or sliding scale services, she invited me to her Berkley home “under the pretense of providing extra support.” This was already a catastrophic breach of therapist-patient boundaries.

Looking back, the red flags were blinding. But when you’re drowning and someone offers a hand, you don’t inspect it for weapons.

The relationship quickly morphed into something unrecognizable. Doctor Emily began dictating who I could speak to, where I could go, how I should spend my time. I was instructed to cut off contact with former partners, friends, and reduce communication with family. Her reasoning? They were “toxic influences” who couldn’t be trusted.

She had names for all of them: Egla Kishta, Alexis Smith, Natalie Nufer, Hannah Soroka, Katie Markel, Abby McCoy, Alexis Carter. Women from my past who she claimed were “unstable” and “dangerous.” I was ordered to block them all.

My world systematically narrowed until Doctor Emily was my primary connection, my interpreter of reality. Classic isolation tactics of an abuser, executed with the precision of someone trained in psychological manipulation.

The Death That Made Me Vulnerable

In October 2023, my best friend and mentor — the person who brought me into the financial industry, who believed in me before I believed in myself — died. I was devastated. Lost. Unraveling in ways I didn’t even realize yet. He was the last real anchor I had. And when he was gone, I was more vulnerable than I’d ever been in my life.

Doctor Emily knew exactly what his death meant to me. She’d heard me talk about him in therapy for years. She knew he was my professional north star, my proof that someone saw potential in me. And she used that grief like a weapon, reminding me constantly that without him, I had no one left who truly understood me.

No one except her.

The Manufactured Crisis

September 2023 marked a critical escalation. I began dating Reily Marie Newton, someone I thought was completely unconnected to Doctor Emily. Let me be clear about Reily Newton — she wasn’t some long-term ex I was hung up on. I met her on a dating app in September 2023, we dated briefly, and when Emily manufactured her conspiracy theories about Reily ‘targeting’ us, I cut contact.

This seemingly innocent relationship triggered an astonishing reaction from Doctor Emily, who suddenly claimed Reily was “targeting” both of us.

The allegations became increasingly bizarre: Reily was supposedly buying Doctor Emily’s divorce records, posting photos of Doctor Emily’s child online, making false complaints to licensing boards, and even “created a sex tape with her ex-husband just to torment Doctor Emily.”

When I expressed doubts about these outlandish claims, Doctor Emily reacted with indignation — how could I question her after all she’d done for me? The gaslighting was relentless. Soon, she expanded her conspiracy theory to include “Little Mark” — Mark Messmore — who she claimed was Reily’s accomplice in this harassment campaign.

Here’s where it gets fucked up: Mark Messmore wasn’t just some random name. He was Reily’s former high school teacher at Saline High School — a teacher who’d been fired for inappropriate relationships with students. But their connection went way deeper than that. The private investigator would later uncover that Reily and Mark had lived together at multiple addresses over the years. They weren’t just former teacher and student — they were long-term partners who’d carefully hidden their relationship from me.

Doctor Emily claimed Mark was orchestrating attacks against us, that he and Reily were working together to destroy both our lives. She painted him as a dangerous predator with a criminal history — which turned out to be one of the few truths in her web of lies. In 2020, Mark had been convicted of four felonies including identity theft and computer crimes. The victim? Women he’d been involved with, including Reily herself. He’d been sentenced to two years probation and ordered to have no contact with Reily and two other women.

Yet somehow, despite this no-contact order, they were still connected. Still living at the same addresses. Still operating as a team.

Then came the crescendo: approximately 70 calls from a blocked number over just a few days. Doctor Emily presented this as irrefutable proof that Reily and Mark were dangerously obsessed and stalking us. Under intense pressure, I severed contact with Reily, cutting off what might have been my escape route from Doctor Emily’s growing control.

“Most shocking of all, Doctor Emily even produced a document she claimed was an NDA with Reily’s signature on it — showing me just the ‘signature page’ as supposed proof.”

The Web of Manipulation Goes Deeper

What makes this case even more disturbing is the apparent web of connections between the key players. My therapist claimed intimate knowledge about Reily that I had never shared with her — including specific sexual preferences and relationship patterns that would have been impossible for her to know without direct contact.

“She has a breeding kink,” Doctor Emily told me matter-of-factly one day, revealing information I had never disclosed to her which I later found to be true. “And she was Little Mark’s student at the high school where he taught before being fired for inappropriate relationships with students.”

The fact that Emily knew intimate details about Reily that I’d never shared — including specific sexual preferences — should have been my biggest red flag. How the fuck did my therapist know things about someone I’d just started dating that I hadn’t told her?

These revelations left me questioning everything. How could my therapist possibly know these details? When I asked how and why she’d been in contact with Little Mark — a man she claimed was threatening her — Doctor Emily quickly fabricated another layer to her story: it wasn’t her who had spoken to him but her supposed “reputation management firm” that she’d hired because of Reily.

Most shocking of all, Doctor Emily even produced a document she claimed was an NDA with Reily’s signature on it — showing me just the “signature page” as supposed proof that Reily was legally restricted from discussing certain matters. This manufactured evidence appeared only a month or two after I had begun dating Reily. It was a clear attempt to silence me and prevent me from comparing notes with Reily — a tactic that would become increasingly important to Doctor Emily as her web of lies grew more complex.

The private investigator would later reveal the full extent of Reily and Mark’s connection:

• They’d shared a house in New York

• They’d lived together at 101 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor, MI

• Reily attended Saline High School during the time Mark taught there

• Despite Mark’s 2020 criminal conviction requiring no contact with Reily, they continued living together

• Mark’s family owned TAQ — Taqueria Restaurant and Bar at 81 Warren St. in NYC — the very address that would later appear on threatening letters sent to me

• Their connection wasn’t casual or distant as Reily portrayed when I confronted her — it was ongoing, substantial, and deliberately concealed from me. She’d let me believe she barely knew him, when in reality they’d been partners for years.

The pieces were starting to fit together in the most disturbing way.

The Extortion Machine Takes Form

By early 2024, Doctor Emily had constructed an elaborate web of threats, both real and imagined. The most devastating arrived in February — an anonymous text message from a number I didn’t recognize, listing my name and professional FINRA identification (CRD number) alongside several others.

The text came from a VOIP number — computer-generated, untraceable. It said: “Your copy maybe gets to you before it’s filed.” Signed: “A concerned citizen.”

Days later, a letter arrived at my home addressed to FINRA, falsely alleging that I and several others had engaged in cheating on professional exams. The letter was never actually sent to FINRA — it was meant purely to terrorize me. The return address? R Sender, 81 Warren St., NYC, NY 10007.

The private investigator would later reveal this address belonged to TAQ — Taqueria Restaurant and Bar, owned by Little Mark’s family. The same Mark Messmore who was supposedly Reily’s former teacher but was actually her long-term partner. The pieces were starting to fit together in the most disturbing way.

With my FINRA arbitration case pending — my one shot at clearing my professional record after the bullshit termination — these threats struck my most vulnerable point. Doctor Emily knew exactly what I stood to lose.

“I have a solution,” she said, presenting a multi-page contract that would “protect” me from these supposed enemies.

The Contract from Hell

The February 2024 contract was unlike anything I could have imagined. Under extreme duress, I signed away not just my money, but my basic human autonomy. The document contained 24 separate restrictions and demands, meticulously crafted to strip away every aspect of my independence.

Let’s break down what this contract actually was — a psychological imprisonment document:

The restrictions were suffocating:

• No contact with Reily Newton — permanently

• No contact with seven other named individuals from my past

• No romantic relationships until June 2026 without Doctor Emily’s approval

• Deactivate all social media accounts

• Delete all dating profiles

• Consent to monitoring of all electronic devices “with or without notice”

• Leave my phone and laptop in my car when visiting her home

• Obtain mental health treatment by her deadline

• Enter 30-day rehab if she deemed my behavior “problematic”

The psychological controls were insidious:

• I couldn’t defend myself if she accused me of anything

• I couldn’t question her memory of events

• I couldn’t ask for proof of her claims

• I had to validate her feelings even when I disagreed

• I had to maintain empathy “even when under extreme distress”

• I couldn’t speak about her to anyone without written permission until May 2025

The contract even included an “Anti-Gaslighting Protocol” that was itself gaslighting — requiring me to:

• Acknowledge and validate her feelings even if I disagreed

• Refrain from dismissing or denying her concerns

• Not attempt to rewrite history (as defined by her)

• Practice active listening and empathy

The financial obligations were crushing:

• Immediate payment of $5,000 (completed)

• $41,000 to be paid March-May in transfers under $9,000 each

• $50,000 to be paid starting June at $1,000/month

• $100 monthly into a trust account for her minor child

• 5% of any future financial industry income — forever

• $54,349.67 from my 401k within 72 hours if she deemed me in violation

• Automatic forfeiture of $54,349.67 from my 401k for any ‘violation’ she deemed occurred

The contract specified payments “of no more than $9,000” — just under the $10,000 threshold that triggers mandatory IRS reporting. This is criminal structuring, designed to evade federal detection.

This wasn’t a contract — it was psychological and financial slavery dressed up in legal language.

When I hesitated, her threat was explicit: “If you don’t shut up, I’m going to write the letter to FINRA myself. I know everything about you.”

Under extreme duress, I signed it. What choice did I have? My entire career, my reputation, my future — all hanging by a thread that Doctor Emily was threatening to cut.

“Between February and June 2024, I transferred approximately $126,000 to Doctor Emily through a series of payments specifically structured to avoid banking reporting thresholds.”

The Financial Bloodletting

The financial exploitation was systematic and devastating. Between February and June 2024, I transferred approximately $126,000 to Doctor Emily through carefully structured payments designed to avoid detection.

The payment schedule was relentless:

• $15,000 on June 27

• $7,500 on June 26

• $5,000 on June 25

• Multiple transfers of $5,000-$9,000 throughout April and May

• A check for $5,222.86 on June 27

The payment structure itself was criminal. Every transaction deliberately under $10,000 to avoid mandatory bank reporting. This is called ‘structuring’ — a federal crime under 31 U.S.C. § 5324. She didn’t just steal my money; she committed federal crimes to hide it.

To meet these demands, I liquidated investment accounts, withdrew from my 401(k) incurring massive penalties, and drained every penny of savings. My monthly income from my new job was $6,349. I was sending Doctor Emily more than double my income.

Doctor Emily claimed this money was going to a “reputation management firm” run by someone named “Kai.” She mentioned other operatives: “Cav” and “Hayden.” When I asked for proof of these services or contact information, she’d dodge or claim it was “too dangerous” to share.

The investigation would later reveal:

• No reputation management firm existed

• “Kai’s PR Kingdom” was a defunct LinkedIn page

• Doctor Emily’s checking account showed just $371 in March 2025

• No trace of where my $126,000 actually went

Living Under Siege

By July 2024, I was approaching complete psychological collapse. The contract controlled every aspect of my existence:

Technology restrictions:

• Leave all devices in my car at her home

• Submit to device monitoring anytime

• She installed “VPN monitoring” on my laptop

• Banned from all social media

• Couldn’t even have LinkedIn

Social restrictions:

• No dating until 2026

• No contact with anyone from my past

• Limited family communication

• Required to document all human interactions

• Had to explain any absence over 2 hours

Psychological restrictions:

• Couldn’t question her version of events

• Had to accept her memories as fact

• Required to show empathy while being abused

• Forced to journal about my “wrongdoings”

• Attend therapy on her schedule

I developed paralyzing anxiety attacks. Sleep became nearly impossible — I’d jolt awake in terror, convinced I’d violated some provision. I lost 40 pounds. I couldn’t focus. I was dying from the inside out.

The most devastating aspect was the isolation. Cut off from friends, family, and romantic connections, I had no one to validate my reality. Doctor Emily had become my only significant human contact, making her version of reality the only one that existed.

The June Amendment: Tightening the Noose

On June 23, 2024, as I was beginning to crack under the pressure, Doctor Emily presented an “amendment” to our contract. This wasn’t mercy — it was calculated escalation.

New provisions included:

• I could return to social media (but she’d monitor everything)

• Continue paying her share of “technology expert” fees

• Establish a financial account for her son

• Give her 5% of future income with no cap

• Notify her before starting any new job

• Automatic payments from any new employer

• If I died, she’d become beneficiary until her son turned 18

The amendment specified that once I got a job in financial services:

• Invest $100/month in a UTMA account for her son

• Give 5% of income to her with no cap

• Money to be Zelled monthly to an account she specified

She also introduced new payment obligations while slightly modifying others, ensuring that even if I tried to rebuild my life, I’d remain financially shackled to her indefinitely.

The Breaking Point

By August 2024, I’d paid her $126,000. I was broke, isolated, and hanging by a thread. Then came August 9, 2024 — my FINRA arbitration hearing.

The outcome was everything I’d fought for. The victory I desperately needed.

This removed Doctor Emily’s most powerful leverage. The threat to my career — the sword she’d held over my head for months — suddenly vanished.

Her reaction was immediate. On August 11, she sent an email that would become crucial evidence. She admitted to lying, acknowledged making threatening comments, and tried to justify her actions while apologizing. The email alternated between self-justification and admissions:

“To clarify- nothing is held, saved, stored, etc. related to any government agency. I wasn’t lying about that.”

The implication was clear: everything else had been a lie.

Days later, another email where she admitted to “insanity” and claimed she’d “deleted all materials” and “ended contracts with third parties.” The reputation management firm? The technology expert? The protective services I’d paid $126,000 for?

They never existed.

The Confession Email: When Abusers Accidentally Document Their Own Crimes

On August 11, 2024, just two days after my FINRA hearing stripped away her leverage, Emily sent an email that would become Exhibit A in her own prosecution. This rambling 7-page manifesto wasn’t an apology — it was a masterclass in manipulation tactics, gaslighting, and inadvertent confession.

Let me break down the most damning admissions:

She Admits to the Threats

“To clarify- nothing is held, saved, stored, etc. related to any government agency. I wasn’t lying about that.”

Translation: Everything else I told you? Total fucking lie. The reputation management firm, the technology experts, the protective services you paid $126,000 for? Fiction. But hey, at least I didn’t actually have government documents!

She continues: “And yes, I fully acknowledge that one time, 6 months ago now, I made one threatening comment.”

One time? This woman held my career hostage for months, but sure, let’s minimize it to “one threatening comment.”

The PTSD Weaponization

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean my PTSD has. My nervous system isn’t my brain.”

Here’s where she reveals her playbook: using her own claimed PTSD as justification for abusing me. She knew exactly how my trauma responses worked because she’d documented them for five years. Then she triggered them deliberately while hiding behind her own “nervous system.”

The Custody Threat Revelation

Her paranoid rant about me supposedly working with her ex-husband Jeff to take her son reveals the depth of her delusion: “When you told me that you were going to work with Jeff to make sure my kid was taken from me to keep him safe…”

I never said this. Ever. But this fabricated threat became her justification for destroying my life. She created an imaginary conspiracy where I was somehow allied with her ex-husband — a man I’d never met or spoken to.

The Power Dynamic Admission

“You’ve made comments about how we don’t hug and how I approach you more aggressively than I used to… I think it’s hard for me knowing how much you matter to me, knowing how often I’ve shown that, and that there’s still a big chance of me getting hurt.”

She’s literally admitting to becoming increasingly aggressive while claiming I’m the one who might hurt her. Classic DARVO — Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.

The Financial Control Confession

“I agree with you that it’s impossible to have a friendship where something like the agreement exists that one person facilitates.”

There it is. She admits the contract made a genuine relationship impossible. She knew the power dynamic was fucked. She did it anyway.

The Isolation Acknowledgment

“I understand you felt pressure, and I feel that’s different than saying I isolated you.”

She doesn’t deny the isolation — just argues about whether to call it “pressure” or “isolation.” When you’re debating semantics about cutting someone off from their entire support system, you’ve already lost the moral high ground.

The Most Revealing Line

“I have tried to be as open as possible because I know how hard it is for you to trust. I literally put my license in your hands from the start.”

This is the smoking gun. She KNEW I had trust issues from trauma. She KNEW putting her “license in my hands” would make me feel responsible for protecting her. She weaponized my own protective instincts against me.

The entire email alternates between:

• Admitting to lies while minimizing them

• Blaming me for her threatening behavior

• Claiming she was just trying to protect herself while systematically destroying me

• Gaslighting about gaslighting (“So it made it seem more like you were gaslighting me”)

This email perfectly demonstrates how abusers think. Even in their “apologies,” they:

• Minimize their actions

• Blame the victim

• Make themselves the real victim

• Admit to just enough to seem honest while denying the full scope

• Use therapy language to manipulate

She sent this thinking it would make things better. Instead, she documented her own psychological torture techniques, admitted to lying about the very services I paid $126,000 for, and revealed the calculated nature of her manipulation.

This is why documentation matters. Abusers get cocky. They think their victims are too broken to fight back. They think their word games and psychological manipulation will work forever.

They’re wrong.

This email will be submitted as evidence to LARA, to law enforcement, and to any court that will hear it. Because while Emily thought she was writing an apology, she was actually writing her own confession.

The Investigation Reveals the Truth

By early 2025, I’d hired private investigators and assembled overwhelming evidence:

The threatening communications:

• Anonymous texts traced to VOIP numbers in NYC and Chicago

• The FINRA letter traced to Little Mark’s family restaurant

• Email threats using German servers (Posteo) requiring no ID

• Multiple suspicious iCloud accounts ending in “0” + letter (Julep_preppy0j, Craving_dodgy0k, Goad_buddies0u)

The financial fraud:

• $126,000 transferred under structured payments

• No evidence of any “reputation firm”

• Doctor Emily’s checking account showed just $371 in March 2025

• Clear violation of IRS reporting requirements

The web of connections:

• Reily and Mark shared addresses for years

• Both lived at 101 W Liberty St, Ann Arbor

• Reily attended Saline High where Mark taught before being fired for inappropriate student relationships

• Mark convicted in 2020 of identity theft and computer crimes against women including Reily

• Despite court-ordered no contact, they continued living together

• Mark’s family restaurant was the return address on threatening letters

• Both subject to no-contact orders because of his crimes — orders they violated

The licensing violations:

• No complaints existed against Doctor Emily before mine

• She fabricated claims about losing a “research license”

• Her threats to breach confidentiality were criminal

• Using therapy knowledge for extortion violates every ethical standard

The private investigator uncovered what I couldn’t see while trapped in the manipulation: a web of connections that suggested this might not have been Emily’s first rodeo. The sophisticated use of VOIP numbers, structured payments, and coordinated threats pointed to something more sinister than a therapist gone rogue.

The Gaslighting Continues: When Your Abuser Reads Their Own Story

On April 10, 2025, something revealing happened. I’d published this story using only initials — trying to protect people’s identities while sharing my truth. No full names. Just initials.

Reily Newton somehow found it, read it, and immediately knew it was about her.

Think about that for a second. I used initials. I could have been writing about anyone. But she knew. And instead of “Holy shit, I had no idea Emily was doing this to you” or “Oh my god, are you okay?” — she sent me this Instagram message:

“Hi. I saw the article. I’m sorry for everything you were enduring and that I seemed to escalate it for you. To clear some things up, I did not have a plan or urge to ruin your life. To my knowledge, Mark never knew about you. I hope you can understand my delay in responding and trepidation to open a dialogue since this was a situation that also caused me emotional distress. I am happy to see you turning this into a conversation that will hopefully help other people and I wish you solace as you heal from this.”

Let’s dissect this manipulation masterpiece:

• “I saw the article” — The article with only initials. How did she know it was about her unless she was involved?

• “I seemed to escalate it for you” — Not “Emily extorted you,” not “this is horrific,” but somehow SHE’S the one who “seemed” to make it worse

• “Mark never knew about you” — Really? The man she lived with at 101 W Liberty St? The man whose family restaurant was the return address on threatening letters? That Mark?

• “This was a situation that also caused me emotional distress” — She’s the victim now?

• Zero acknowledgment of the $126,000 stolen

• Zero acknowledgment of the threatening letters from Mark’s family restaurant

• Zero explanation of why Emily knew intimate details about her

• Zero explanation of her hidden relationship with Mark

This is gaslighting in its purest form. Even when confronted with documented evidence of a $126,000 extortion scheme, contract slavery, and systematic psychological torture, she:

• Makes herself a victim

• Minimizes her role

• Denies Mark’s involvement despite living with him

• Offers empty “healing” wishes while taking zero accountability

The most telling part? She immediately knew an article with only initials was about her. An innocent person would have reached out with shock, concern, confusion. Instead, she went straight to damage control and victim-playing.

This message perfectly encapsulates why documentation matters. Even when caught, even when exposed, they continue the manipulation. They count on you being too broken, too confused, too traumatized to see through it.

But I see through it. And now you do too.

Fighting Back

In March 2025, I filed a formal complaint with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) detailing:

• Exploitation of therapist-patient relationship

• Breach of confidentiality

• Financial extortion

• Emotional and psychological abuse

• Harassment and intimidation

• Illegal drug distribution (she gave me controlled substances)

Just weeks ago, I sat down with two LARA investigators advancing my case. I’ve also filed a police report. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they’re turning.

Even after I cut contact, the harassment continued. On January 1, 2025, Doctor Emily emailed my employer trying to get me fired. She claimed I was harassing her — the classic abuser move of playing victim when exposed.

The Legal Implications

What Emily did wasn’t just unethical — it was criminal:

• Extortion under Michigan law (MCL 750.213)

• Structuring financial transactions to evade reporting (31 U.S.C. § 5324)

• Intentional infliction of emotional distress

• Breach of fiduciary duty

• Violations of HIPAA privacy rules

• Professional misconduct under Michigan Admin Code R 338.1761

She didn’t just break trust — she broke laws.

The Recovery and Reclamation

The damage Doctor Emily inflicted was comprehensive:

• $126,000 stolen

• Career nearly destroyed

• Relationships severed

• Two years of my life stolen

• Trust in therapy shattered

• PTSD compounded exponentially

But here’s what nobody tells you about surviving psychological abuse at this level: your brain rewires itself in ways you never imagined possible. For months after breaking free, I’d wake up in cold sweats, convinced I’d violated some rule. I’d check my phone obsessively, terrified of missing a message that could trigger punishment.

But resilience isn’t some magical quality. It’s a muscle that grows stronger each time it’s tested. Every day I didn’t collapse was a victory. Every moment I questioned her reality was a revolution. Every time I reached for help — even when my hand shook — was an act of courage.

I’ve sought legitimate therapy with a properly credentialed professional who understands therapist abuse. I’m rebuilding financially despite the massive setback. Most importantly, I’m reclaiming my narrative through writing and advocacy.

The woman who once convinced me I was too broken to function without her control can no longer silence me. My voice — raw, powerful, unfiltered — is the ultimate proof of her failure.

This Is About More Than Me

Professional exploitation happens more than we acknowledge, especially to those already vulnerable. Predators with credentials are particularly dangerous because their authority grants them both access and plausible deniability.

If you’re experiencing professional exploitation:

• Document everything obsessively

• Save all communications

• Track all financial transactions

• Tell someone — anyone — what’s happening

• Contact your state licensing board

• Remember: ethical professionals have boundaries

The warning signs I missed:

• Transitioning from professional to personal relationship

• Isolating you from support systems

• Financial entanglement

• Threats using professional knowledge

• Claims only they can “help” you

• Elaborate stories about external threats

• Contracts controlling personal life

• Payments structured to avoid detection

If your therapist does ANY of these things, run:

• Suggests continuing therapy outside the office when you can’t afford sessions

• Invites you to their home

• Shifts from therapist to ‘friend’

• Asks for money beyond session fees

• Creates contracts controlling your personal life

• Monitors your devices

• Isolates you from support systems

• Uses your disclosed traumas as threats

• Claims only they can ‘protect’ you

These aren’t red flags — they’re fucking air raid sirens.

This is no longer just about what happened to me. This is about ensuring it never happens to anyone else.

The system that allowed a Limited Licensed Psychologist to exploit a vulnerable patient must be reformed. The regulatory bodies that granted Doctor Emily the power to access people at their most fragile must be held accountable.

The Current Status

As of today, here’s where we stand:

• LARA investigators are actively pursuing my complaint

• Law enforcement has been notified

• Emily still holds her limited license (#6361005093)

• She’s still practicing at Crossings Counseling in Troy

• She’s still seeing vulnerable clients who have no idea what she’s capable of

Every day she keeps her license is another day she can do this to someone else.

I’m not just recovering — I’m fighting back. And I won’t stop until the psychological warfare Doctor Emily waged against me becomes the catalyst for change that protects every future patient who sits across from a therapist, believing they’re in safe hands.

The Punch in the Fucking Face

Listen closely, because this is the part that matters:

This should have killed me. By every metric — psychological, financial, emotional — I should be dead. Doctor Emily counted on that. She bet everything on breaking me so completely that I’d either end my life or spend the rest of it too shattered to speak.

She lost that bet.

See, here’s what predators like her don’t understand about people like us: We’ve already survived the unsurvivable. We’ve already been broken and rebuilt ourselves with our bare fucking hands. We’ve stared into the abyss so many times it knows our name.

You think you can use my trauma against me? My trauma is what forged me into someone who can document your crimes while having a panic attack. My ADHD isn’t a weakness — it’s what made me hyperfocus on collecting every receipt, every text, every piece of evidence that will end your career.

To everyone reading this who’s trapped in their own version of hell: Document everything. Trust your gut when it screams. And remember — the very fact that you’re still breathing is proof that you’re stronger than whatever is trying to destroy you.

To the professionals who weaponize their credentials: We see you. We’re coming for your licenses. We’re dismantling the systems that protect you. Your days of hiding behind degrees and manipulating the vulnerable are numbered.

And to Doctor Emily, when you read this — because I know you will — understand something: You didn’t break me. You revealed me. Every dollar you stole, every freedom you restricted, every lie you told — it all just sharpened the weapon I’ve become.

I’m not your victim anymore. I’m your reckoning.

The Call to Action

If you’ve been victimized by a therapist, here’s what you do:

1. Document everything — texts, emails, banking records, contracts

2. File a complaint with your state licensing board immediately

3. Report financial crimes to law enforcement

4. Contact an attorney specializing in professional malpractice

5. Find a trauma-informed therapist who specializes in therapy abuse

6. Know this: It’s not your fault. Predators target vulnerability — that’s what makes them predators.

And if you’re a therapist reading this who’s crossed boundaries with a client — know that we’re coming for your license. The age of professional predators hiding behind credentials is fucking over.

This is what resilience truly means: transforming your deepest wounds into the exact weapon needed to protect others from suffering the same fate.

You tried to kill me. Now I’m going to make sure you never hurt anyone again.

And the truth?

The truth is going to destroy you.

— Cody Taymore

Kill The Silence

Read the Full Story on Mark Messmore’s Criminal Convictions:

Messmore Pleads Guilty, No Contest in Plea Deal to Avoid Jail Time | The Saline Post
Mark Messmore, former Saline High School teacher charged with 22 counts of fraud and identity theft, has agreed to a…thesalinepost.com

Man Faces 16 Felony Charges for Using Saline Woman's Identity to Rack Up $53,000 in Credit Card…
According to the police report, Messmore opened six credit card accounts in the name of his ex-girlfriend, with total…thesalinepost.com

If this gave you clarity, peace, or just helped you feel a little less alone — and you want to support more work like this — you can leave a small tip here.

Buy Me a Coffee

---

Join the Conversation

If this story resonated with you, consider sharing your experience in the comments. Professional abuse thrives in silence—breaking that silence is the first step toward change. Subscribe to receive future articles on recovery, professional ethics, and rebuilding after trauma.

Have you witnessed or experienced similar boundary violations? Your perspective matters in this ongoing conversation about accountability in mental healthcare.

---

RESOURCES

Mental Health Support:

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): 1-800-950-NAMI (6264)

• SAMHSA's National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

Addiction Recovery:

• Alcoholics Anonymous: aa.org

• SMART Recovery: smartrecovery.org

• National Association for Addiction Professionals: naadac.org

Therapist Misconduct:

• File a complaint with your state licensing board

• APA Ethics Office: apa.org/ethics

• Therapy Exploitation Link Line: therapyabuse.org

If you're in immediate danger, please call 911 or your local emergency number.