A woman sitting in a wooden chair with a caramel leather seat, smiling, with a houseplant, a lamp with a floral shade, and a clock on a wooden side table behind her.
Person sitting on a green sofa, writing in a notebook with a pen. The person is wearing a navy blue top and white pants, with a watch and bracelet on their left wrist. There is a decorative pillow with floral patterns on the sofa. The setting appears to be a cozy indoor space with carpeted flooring.
A person wearing a black, sleeveless, woven top and blue jeans, holding a stack of books against a plain wall. The person's left hand is holding the books, which include a red book titled 'The Myth of Normal,' with the cover partially visible.

Hi, I’m Erica

My story

My mother is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and I like to think I was born with helping in my blood. As an undergrad at UC Berkeley, I leaned into my love of words and stories and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. After graduating, I worked at several non-profits and ultimately decided to pursue my Master of Social work in 2015. Very quickly I felt it in my bones — this is the field for me. I have worked with middle schoolers exploring their identity; teen moms adjusting to their new responsibility; foster youth, biological families, and adoptive families working through their grief and loss; adults with persistent mental illness navigating their resources; and finally active duty military and their family members acclimating to their service to our country. I will never take for granted that I get to be the recipient of so many stories. 


My style 

I am rooted in attachment and psychodynamic theories and always come in with a client-centered, strength-based approach. I pull from multiple modalities including Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I also completed my Perinatal Mental Health Certificate as my own transition to parenthood changed me in ways I could never have foreseen. 

More than anything, I believe in the therapeutic alliance between clinician and client. My goal is to make sure you always feel heard, you never feel judged, and you know how deeply I care. 

My interests

When not doing therapy, I love to read (an English major until the end!), walk, and adventure with my family.

Credentials and Memberships:

PSI certification logo with a purple circular border and a stylized human figure reaching upwards, on a blue and white background. The text says Certified Perinatal Mental Health Professional (PMH-C)
Logo featuring a light blue circle with a white outline of a human head containing three gears inside. Around the circle, black text reads "AllianCe Point StartuP Heather 2022" and "ClINICAL MEMBER".