Healing Roots

I'm Erika, a bilingual (hablo español), mental health counselor practicing in Rochester, New York. I help people heal core wounds to align mind, body, and spirit. My holistic counseling approach integrates, emotion-focused, body-centered, and psychodynamic modalities. My work is heavily informed by Brainspotting, Experiential Dynamic Therapies, Hakomi, Yoga, Parts and Ancestral work. Healing does not have to be done alone, it does not have a timeline or age, and often it is not linear. It can be uncomfortable and challenging, restorative and humanizing. It is an ongoing process of liberation done with others along the way. And most importantly, I believe that it is an act of love, a deep love for self, for family, for community, for ancestors, and for future generations that will inherit the Earth.

Mind

My love for literature and art led to my doctoral studies in Spanish literature which cultivated my philosophical and historical understanding of the human condition and its representation in the arts. My background in the humanities informs my holistic and integrative view of counseling in the sense that I consider the complexity of the individual influenced beyond biology; by family, environment, culture, language, society, worldviews and the stories passed on through generations.

Holistic Integration

Body

My journey as an immigrant shaped my curiosity about the many ways people experience and move through the world. Having faced significant loss at a young age, I understand firsthand the complexities of identity, belonging, and relationships. As a lesbian and woman of color, I also know the particular weight that marginalized identities can carry within a dominant culture. My lived experience is a source of resilience — and an honest reminder of how unprocessed pain can live in the body.

For over 20 years, I lived with chronic lower back pain. That journey led me toward mindfulness, yoga, and energy healing — and ultimately to Dr. John Sarno's work, which helped me find lasting relief through emotion focused trauma work. The mind Body healing approach changed everything, and it's what drew me to the trauma-informed, body-centered approaches like Brainspotting and ISTDP that now guide my practice.

Spirit

Experiencing and learning about spiritual practices from different cultures in the Americas, Europe and Asia have influenced my patient, open, non-judgmental approach to counseling. My spiritual practices foster my ability to create a space of acceptance and compassion. I try to spend as much time as possible in nature. Walking, hiking, and witnessing all forms of life are incredibly liberating and restorative for me. I feel at peace when experiencing the silence, beauty, and immensity of nature. It reminds me that I am connected to something beyond myself.