Hi, I’m Erica!

I provide individual and couples counselling in Edmonton and virtual counselling across Alberta. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at hello@ericadunn.ca.

How I Work:

With all clients, my most important goal is to build a trusting, safe and supported relationship. I do this through allowing the therapeutic process to unfold at a pace that is comfortable for you, providing gentle encouragement, using humour, asking meaningful questions, and meeting you with authentic empathy and validation.

Individual Counselling:

When working with individuals, I mostly commonly use an emotionally-focused framework (i.e., EFT). When working from this lens, you and I will explore your experiences with emotional processing and better understand how earlier life and relationship experiences may be influencing challenging emotional reactions and coping behaviours. The goal of Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) is to help clients have a more coherent sense of self and healthier engagement with others in the outside world.

For some clients and presenting concerns, it is more appropriate to work from a Cognitive-Behavioural (i.e., CBT) orientation. This means that I work with you to better understand how you are thinking and behaviours you are engaging in and explore where modifications might be possible to help you heal and grow. This does not mean that I will simply ask you to “think and act differently.” Instead, we work together to 1) identify problematic, troubling, or distressing beliefs and behaviours, 2) understand the roots and function(s) of frequently occurring problematic beliefs and behaviours, including how these beliefs and behaviours may have been adaptive for you, and 3) work to challenge, soften, correct, and/or reframe the beliefs and behaviours.

I am also trained in a number of additional approaches including Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (i.e., DBT), Narrative Therapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy.

I have completed intensive training in Exposure & Response Prevention (Ex/RP) for OCD and Prolonged Exposure (PE) for PTSD.

Couples Counselling:

With couples, I draw from Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy. Here, the goal is to help you and your partner understand your unique patterns of attachment and interaction and facilitate a more bonded and functional way of interacting. I do this through getting to know your history and the history of your partner, highlighting how past experiences may be influencing current patterns of interaction, and facilitating dialogues between you and your partner in a new way to help you better understand each partner’s fears and needs.

I am proud to work with couples of all ages and have experience working with couples in heterosexual and same-sex relationships.

In addition to EFT, I have completed Gottman Level 1 and draw on this material when appropriate for my clients.

Who I Work With:

I work with adults, including seniors and couples.

Common reasons individuals see me:

• Anxiety, OCD, PTSD, Phobias
• Women’s health issues
• Depression, low mood
• Relationship challenges
• Life transition challenges
• Divorce & separation
• Stress management
• Caregiver stress
• Attachment injuries
• Identity concerns
• Parenting stress
• Motherhood
• Self-esteem
• Perfectionism
• Boundaries, communication, assertiveness
• Blended families
• Family of origin concerns
• Imposter syndrome

Common reasons couples see me:

• Infidelity
• Communication challenges
• Loss of emotional connection
• Blended family concerns
• Loss of intimacy
• Family of origin challenges
• Major life transitions
• Parenting challenges
• Divergent values and goals

Credentials:

• Registered Psychologist (#4231) with the College of Alberta Psychologists
• B.A. in Honours Psychology from the University of Waterloo
• M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta
• Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta

About Me:

I love being a psychologist. It is the greatest privilege to be with people in their pain and their healing.

I have 17 years of experience offering counselling. I worked as a Psychologist & Associate Director at Counselling & Clinical Services at the University of Alberta for nine years. I was the Director of Counselling at Clarity Psychology from 2023-2025.

I have completed thousands of hours of therapy with clients of all ages, including seniors.

Outside of work, I hold many identities – I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister, auntie, friend, and dog mom, among others. The most important identity I share with my clients, however, is simply being human. I delight in building deep and meaningful relationships with others and sharing in the profoundly messy, complex and rewarding journey that is being human. I believe we all suffer, we are all flawed, and we are all resilient and that through effective support and self-exploration, we have a remarkable capacity for growth and healing.

When I am not working, you can find me with my school-aged son and husband (a high school teacher in Edmonton), walking our dog in the River Valley, spending time with our family and friends, volunteering, or simply playing outside. I love baking, holidays, photography, my garden, long walks with a good podcast, and decorating.

Of note, I have unique lived experience with a sister with severe intellectual disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder and appreciate any opportunity to work with family members who have navigated the highs and lows of similar circumstances.

Hi, I’m Erica! I provide individual and couples counselling in Edmonton and virtual counselling ... Read More