About Me

Hello!

My name is Erica and I am the owner of The Alma Therapy, LLC. I was born and raised in Southern California and am bilingual in English and Spanish. After attending the University of Oregon for my undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology, I moved to Portland where I obtained my Master of Arts in Professional Mental Health Counseling and a certificate in treating eating disorders from Lewis and Clark College in 2022. I am a National Board Certified Counselor (NCC) and a Professional Counselor Associate with the State of Oregon. My supervisor is Gianna Russo-Mitma, LMFT and her contact information can be found here. 

Growing up, emotions I had about my mind and body image seemed to be stigmatized by my culture and society at large. It was not until my own experiences in therapy that I was able to gain insight and learn about ways that I could begin to process, cope, and heal.

My focus in therapy is on the client and creating a space where the client feels safe, cared for, respected, and welcomed to explore deeper layers of their experience. My therapeutic approach incorporates humanistic, psychodynamic, and relational-cultural theories while ensuring that each client is getting the appropriate tools to help them achieve their goals. I work to help clients find patterns through their emotions, thoughts, and past experiences to help gain insight and to create and maintain a more positive sense of self. I have also worked with clients in the Latinx community and have provided therapy in Spanish.

I believe in working from a collaborative, strengths based, educational, and social justice/intersectional feminist/anti-racist/LGBTQ affirming perspective. The therapeutic relationship should be built on trust and unconditional positive regard to foster growth and positive change!