Erica Wooldridge

I bring to the table over 10 years of clinical experience (including internship and residency) and enjoy working with individuals age 18 and up in my telehealth practice. I particularly enjoy working with military/veterans/first responders; people navigating life after traumatic experiences and/or grief/loss; individuals suffering from chronic/complex illness; and those navigating the complexities of life before, during, or after uncoupling/divorce (either their own or their parents’ or grandparents’). Many of my passions arise from my own lived experiences. I am passionate about teaching self-advocacy to help individuals get the care they need from their team of providers when navigating the medical system to get to the bottom of debilitating symptoms and establishing support systems to navigate chronic and complex diagnoses. I strive to provide a warm, collaborative, and supportive environment to assist with healing from medical and other trauma and finding a path forward when life throws curveballs with physical illness.

If you value a therapist who is warm and empathic, has a playful sense of humor, and tells it like it is while still being supportive and gentle, I’d love the opportunity to partner with you in finding and walking a path out of pain and darkness! I know how hard it can be to open up to a new provider if it’s your first time coming to therapy or if you’ve been dismissed or invalidated by people or providers in the past. I believe that seeking therapy is an act of bravery and shows strength, because being vulnerable doesn’t come naturally when you’ve been hurt. I also understand how frustrating it can be to navigate changes in your functioning as a result of physical illness, mental health diagnoses, or traumatic experiences.

I approach therapy in a holistic, somatic, trauma-informed and person-centered, flexible but systematic manner with a strong focus on tangible skills development (through a combination of DBT and somatic or nervous system focused approaches) and trauma reprocessing when appropriate (depending on individual needs and readiness/desire to engage in this work). I am trained in both Flash and EMDR and am able to use these approaches flexibly to support individuals with reprocessing trauma either subconsciously (via Flash) or consciously (via EMDR) depending on needs and preferences to help individuals find freedom from the weight and effects of trauma. I am also trained in supporting individuals with recent trauma and have some tricks and strategies I can teach to help prevent any new experiences from getting “stuck” or having lasting negative impacts in the first place. I also take a somatic/holistic approach and am continuing to learn new ways to support people with regulating their nervous systems via ongoing trainings.

In our first few sessions, I will ask a lot of questions to get to know you holistically so that I can better understand what factors and experiences have shaped you to become who you are and how your nervous system is functioning.

We will work together to identify what changes you would like to see/make in your life as well as what areas of skills development may be helpful for you. This may include but is not limited to nervous system regulation (such as how to get unstuck from certain nervous system states and how to support your nervous system overall); interpersonal skills (such as communication styles, exploring and identifying/setting boundaries, navigating conflict, and managing relationships); enhancing your ability to navigate stress; emotion regulation (being able to identify, communicate, and navigate your emotions); symptom management (whether it's symptoms of anxiety, PTSD/trauma, depression, or bipolar disorders) and general life skill (decision-making, impulse control, navigating the medical system, establishing a supportive care team).

I will strive to support you with regulating or re-regulating (shifting out of a deeper or more intense emotional state) prior to the end of sessions so that you're not leaving therapy feeling "unzipped."