(she/her)
Hi, I'm Ericka, a licensed clinical social worker who works with first responders, nurses, teachers, and other caregivers who've spent so long taking care of everyone else that they've lost track of taking care of themselves. Outside of my practice, I'm an avid reader, and there's nowhere I'd rather be than on the white sand beaches of the Emerald Coast - something about that kind of stillness reminds me how essential real rest is, not the kind you squeeze in between everything else, but the kind that actually restores you. That's the same thing I hope to help you find in our work together: a steady, non-judgmental space where you don't have to have it all figured out to show up. We'll go at your pace, paying attention to how stress and exhaustion show up in your body as much as your mind, so you can start feeling like yourself again - not just the person everyone relies on.
You've spent so much time taking care of everyone else that you may have forgotten what it feels like to have someone show up for you. This session is that - a space where, for once, you don't have to be the strong one, the calm one, or the one who has it all handled. There's no script to follow, and you don't need to walk in with anything figured out. We'll start with what's going on for you right now - whether that's a specific event or just exhaustion that's finally caught up with you. A lot of my clients are used to holding things together for everyone else, and aren't used to being asked, " How are you doing?," that question can feel surprisingly hard to answer. I'll ask to understand your world, but you decide how much you share and when. This isn't about fixing everything right away, and it's not a test you can fail. Whatever shows up here - tears, numbness, uncertainty - is welcome. By the end, my hope is that you leave a litte ligther, because for one hour, someone paid full attention to you - not the version of you that holds everything together for everyone else.
I bring a naturally calm, steady presence into every session - not performed, not rehearsed, just who I am. You won't be met with urgency, judgment, or pressure to have a breakthrough on my timeline. I create a space rather than fill it, which means you're never rushed. My clinical approach reflects that same philosophy. Rather than treating your stress as something to just think your way out of, we pay attention to how it lives in your body - the tension you 've stopped noticing, the exhaustion that's become background noise. And instead of trying to "fix" one part of you, we get curious about all the different parts that have been working overtime: the one that pushes through, the one that's exhaused, the one that doesn't know how to stop. What really sets my work apart, though, is who I understand deeply: people who've spent years being strong for everyone else. I'm not learning that world for the first time when you sit down with me - I already know the shape of it. That means less time explaining yourself, and more time actually being met.
You're the person people call in a crisis. You're good at your job, good at holding things together - and quietly exhausted underneath it. You've stopped feeling much of anything most days, or you feel too much and don't know where to put it. You want to sleep through the night, say no without three days of guilt, and leave work without replaying every conversation. You don't need someone to tell you what to do. You need someone who already understands the world you operate in.
Other specialties
I identify as
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
You're not just one thing. The part of you that pushes through a hard shift is different from the part of that falls apart the second you're finally alone. The part that takes care of everyone is different from the part that's furious no one takes care of you. None of that means something's wrong with you - it means you're human, and humans are made up of many different sides, especially when life has asked a lot of them. In our work together, instead of trying to silence or fix the parts of you that feel exhausted, numb, or on edge, we get curious about them. What is that exhaustion trying to protect you from? What is that numbness helping you survive? Often, the parts that feel like the "problem" are actually working incredibly hard to keep you functioning - they just don't know another way to do it anymore. Rather than pushing those parts away, we build a relationship with them. Over time, this helps you feel less at war with yourself, and more like the calm, grounded person underneath all the roles you play for others - the person who's still there, even when caretaking has taken over everything else
Somatic
Stress doesn't just live in your thoughts - it lives in your body. If you've spent years staying alert, staying ready, staying composed, your nervous system has likely learned to stay braced long after the reason has passed. That might look like a tight chest that never fully relaxes, trouble sleeping even when you're exhausted, or feeling keyed up over small things that never used to bother you. In our sessions, we won't just talk about what's stressing you - we'll pay attention to what's happening in your body while we talk about it. Sometimes that means noticing when the tension shows up, or learning small ways to help your body feel safe enough to actually rest. This isn't about relaxation tricks or forcing calm. It's about helping your nervous system learn, little by little, that it's allowed to stand down. For people whose jobs or roles have required them to stay "on" for years, this piece often matters as much as anything we talk about - because you can understand your stress perfectly and still feel it in your shoulders at 2am.