Ericka Lara , LCSW

Ericka Lara is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 21 years of experience. She uses a compassionate, person-centered style to help people facing stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and relationship concerns. Ericka focuses on women's issues among other areas and aims to create a straightforward, respectful space for sharing what matters most.

Clients meet someone who listens first and follows their lead. Sessions are built around what the client brings, not a one-size-fits-all plan. Ericka helps people name their concerns, sort through choices, and find practical next steps.

She brings Narrative Therapy tools into conversations to help people reframe difficult stories. That approach can be useful for issues like guilt, shame, isolation, and life purpose where meaning is part of the struggle. Ericka also uses Client-Centered Therapy, which prioritizes empathy and understanding while clients decide the pace and direction of change.

Ericka has worked with grief, divorce and separation, caregiver stress, and workplace pressures across her career. She pays attention to communication problems and social anxiety so clients can practice clearer interactions. Her approach emphasizes steady progress rather than quick fixes.

Ericka describes the first steps as simple and supportive. She guides people through how therapy will look and helps them set small, realistic goals. The work is practical and collaborative, with an emphasis on making daily life a bit easier over time.

Client-centered and narrative work online

Ericka uses Client-Centered Therapy to prioritize the person's experience in each session. That approach means she listens deeply, follows what the client wants to focus on, and supports people as they decide their own next steps. It suits concerns like anxiety, depression, and building self-love.

She also brings Narrative Therapy into sessions to help people examine the stories they tell about themselves. This can be helpful for issues such as guilt, shame, life purpose, and coping after loss where changing the story can change how someone feels and acts.

Finding the right approach is part of the process and she treats it as a team effort. She will talk with clients about goals, try approaches that fit their needs, and adjust based on what helps most. The therapist and client work together to select methods that match values and daily life demands.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, and messaging or chat can be useful for quick check-ins or when a shorter touchpoint is needed. These formats make it simpler to fit therapy into a busy schedule and maintain steady contact between sessions.