Dr. Erica Shick

About Erica

My approach

My approach combines trauma-informed therapy with practical, coaching-style counseling. I'm warm, collaborative, and direct, offering thoughtful feedback, insight, and tools you can use in everyday life. Together, we'll explore patterns that keep you stuck, strengthen self-trust, build healthier relationships, and create meaningful, lasting change.

About me

Outside of being a therapist, I'm a mom, a partner, and someone who knows life doesn't always go as planned. I've navigated my own new beginnings. I value meaningful relationships, spirituality, good conversations, laughter, and continued growth. I bring that same curiosity, warmth, and realness into my work.

More background

Early on in my career many of the patients I treated in the hospital for severe depression and anxiety were really suffering from childhood complex trauma symptoms. These experiences taught me most patients were prisoners of their past traumas and current thoughts and emotions. They often felt stuck, hopeless, sad, had low energy, and had poor relationships if any.

Some patients appeared to be successful in careers and have the ability to take on a lot but still had an overwhelming sense of sadness. Because of the nature of the level of care in the hospitals, I couldn't address the core of their problems. The best I could do is help them identify that the past was more than likely affecting their present day.

Both the patients and I were frustrated with the lack of progress and I just couldn't believe there weren't more ways to help. So I was led to open a practice to dedicate to the treatment of adult survivors of childhood trauma and dysfunctional families. Better Wellness Counseling is committed to helping clients be the person they want to be by identifying who they are without the story of the past blocking them from who they were born to be.

Clients learn to live in the present moment rather than yesterday or tomorrow, gain a new perspective, and learn how to stop the fight with the depression and anxiety monsters.

Specialties

Types of therapy

Who Erica works with

Ages

Adults

Communities

Single Parents

Languages

English

Education and training

PhD in Organizational Development — Benedictine University

Master of Science in Clinical Psychology — Benedictine University

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology — Argosy University

- Minor in Substance Abuse

Certifications

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) — Trained; certification in progress

NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) — Level 2 Training, Complex and Developmental Trauma

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — Advanced clinical training

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) — Clinical training

Gottman Method Couples Therapy — Level 1 Training

Somatic and Nervous System-Based Approaches — Trauma-informed clinical training

Attachment-Based Therapy — Relational and developmental trauma approaches