Hi There!! I'm Erika Atkinson LCSW. I enjoy working with adults (18 yrs and older) who looking for a positive change in their life. Whether you're struggling with worry, depression, anxiety, trauma, shame, or high stress, finding hope is a key element in making positive changes. I am passionate about working with clients through a variety of life changes with the goal of improving emotional and social functioning to live happier, healthier, and more productive lives. As a therapist, I am here to help you improve your mood and self-esteem, manage stress/anxiety, create healthy boundaries, process trauma, and prioritize self cares. I am trained in EMDR, a model that is widely regarded as one of the best and most effective in the treatment of PTSD, phobias, anxiety, and other psychological conditions. I am also trained in military culture with over 12 years of experience, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. I am passionate about providing a safe environment of comfort, non judgement, and understanding in order to provide focus on a client led experience. I enjoy helping others reach their goals and to help them move forward from stressful events they have encountered.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Great results begin with building a comfortable therapeutic relationship. Together we will talk about what life is like for you, the challenges, the good things, the bad things, and anything in between. We will discuss what you would like your life to be like and identify goals to work towards. We will discuss possible strategies and identify a realistic plan to help get you there. My goal is that you leave our first session with a sense of hope for a better future.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Advocate, Support, and Empower! I am passionate about giving my clients a safe place to work through life's most challenging times without judgement. I am a huge advocate for positive change, providing support, and building hope when all seems so lost. Lastly, I love to empower individuals to truly believe they are deserving of all things great!!
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
Have you ever thought to yourself, "Why am I always so overwhelmed with life, what am I doing wrong, what can I do to make it better?" Yep, Me Too!! Whether you're struggling with worry, depression, anxiety, trauma, shame, or high stress, finding hope is a key element in making positive changes. I am passionate about working with clients through a variety of life changes with the goal of improving emotional and social functioning to live happier, healthier, and more productive lives.
About Erika Atkinson
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VirtualMy treatment methods
EMDR
EMDR has been shown to be effective in reducing negative symptoms from PTSD, anxiety, depression, phobias, grief and loss, performance anxiety, chronic pain and even addictions. Using EMDR has helped my clients process past traumatic memories and reduce the emotional impact allowing them to let go of the past and move forward with their lives. One of my favorite advantages of EMDR is that it does not require clients to talk in detail about their traumatic experiences if they don't want to. Throughout the 8 phases of EMDR, I ensure that all my clients are able to successfully regulate triggered emotions with learned skills prior to processing past trauma allowing them to feel confident in themselves in processing disturbing materials.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I've helped hundreds of individuals with the utilization of CBT. CBT helps individuals gain control over their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors by learning skills, understanding habits, and changing negative thinking. CBT helpings to connect why we do the things we do and in turn helps us challenge and change negative patterns allowing for symptoms to be reduced. CBT has helped reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, anger, and many other mental health issues.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT focuses on treating and managing a wide range of mental health conditions such as, borderline personality disorder, self harm, suicidal behaviors, PTSD, substance use, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety. DBT involves weekly sessions that incorporates talk therapy, learning new skills, tracking emotions and actions, and identifying patterns of behaviors. I have a structured treatment plan that helps with productivity and accountability in reaching goals.