Hi, I’m Erika.

I’m an artist, therapist and mental health educator. Art has been an integral part of my life since childhood, providing a way to communicate at times when I couldn't find the words. From my personal experience to my role as a therapist and educator, I've woven art into all areas of my life, using it as a language to shift perspective, build awareness and create connections. 

After 10 years of working in nonprofits and co-founding a queer art gallery in San Francisco, I've learned that no amount of sacrifice for the greater good is worth your well-being. Community is measured by reciprocity rather than sacrifice. The aim throughout my work is to creatively invest in our collective well-being.

Training & Education

  • Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT131773), licensed by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences

  • Trauma-Informed Systems Certified 

  • Triple P Positive Parenting Program Certified, APA ACT Raising Safe Kids Program Certified

  • Training and expertise in trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), LGBTQ+ affirming therapy, narrative therapy, assessment and treatment of intimate partner violence and somatic therapy

  • MA in Art Therapy and Marriage and Family Therapy | Notre Dame De Namur University | Belmont, CA

  • BA in Psychology and Art | Kalamazoo College | Kalamazoo, MI

My Values: The Four-Eyed Owl

The Four-Eyed Owl is a model for introspection and transformation focusing on our relationship with different facets of life.

I have built specific creative directives around each principle and weave the values into my therapeutic practice, wellness education and personal art-making process.

INTEGRITY

Tapping into the relationship with the Self, cultivating honesty around your intentions, values and what guides you

IMAGINATION

Envisioning the possibilities of the future and the capacity to create, while drawing from lessons of the past and generational wisdom


INQUIRY

Taking the lead from curiosity as foundational to learning, growth and change & creating space to ask and receive

INTEGRATION

Extending lessons, values and dreams outwards, moving from the relationship with the Self to being in relationship with community & the Earth


My Professional Journey

I began my clinical journey in 2011 working with families and children experiencing trauma, multiple mental health diagnoses, institutional harm and oppression. From this work I noticed patterns of violence families experienced and at times replicated so in 2015 I shifted to service that targeted institutional change. Working with city partners, nonprofit agencies and funders I learned the politics of systemic change are wavering and slow-moving, and after experiencing heavy burnout I decided to put my efforts inward rather than outward. 

In 2019, I took a heritage journey to Greece and Sicily to discover my roots and met family I didn’t know I had for the first time. During the journey I found inspiration in learning about my family’s generational trauma and wisdom, fragmented immigration story and our relationship with the land. I realized although art had a role in my personal life, it started to fade in my professional life. In reconnecting with the past that gave me the power to be here, I knew art would have to take center-stage once again in my life.

During the pandemic I built a mental health program for a nonprofit in San Francisco as the Director of Healing Arts working primarily with adolescents, teens and young adults. I also co-founded a Queer art gallery that put my passion into action and kept art at the center of my work & life. Holding a range of positions, relationships and experiences has taught me how to cultivate integrity, freedom in dreaming, nourishment in gratitude and healing in creativity.