Erin Axelrod, MA (she/her/hers)

Emotionally Focused

Honoring emotion is a continuous thread throughout our work together. As recent research demonstrates: we are not thinking beings who sometimes feel, but rather feeling beings who sometimes think. I believe patterns in emotional expression and suppression hold incredible wisdom about our needs and responses to our environments. I will invite your emotional self in a gentle way while also respecting your boundaries and your sense for what you are ready for in a given moment.

Humanistic 

My approach is deeply rooted in the inherent wholeness of each person and the belief in self-determination. It is always important to me that you feel like you are getting what you need out of our work together. I build therapeutic alliances based on collaboration, and see my clients as experts in their own experience.

Mindfulness-based

I bring personal experience and professional training in mindfulness-based approaches, in order to help you connect to improved awareness and choice in each moment. Sometimes, of course, starting therapy stirs things up and we feel worse for a little while. However, I believe that you should generally get to feel more regulated and more resourced after meeting with me, and I find that integrating mindfulness training throughout counseling sessions is supportive of that goal.

Attachment Theory

With specialized training in Somatic Attachment Therapy, I help clients address attachment wounds and support a more secure attachment stance by addressing nervous system dysregulation and the need for relational repair.

Anxiety

Anxiety is so uncomfortable, yet the more we resist, the stronger it gets. I understand the complexity of navigating this riddle both from personal and professional perspectives. I care deeply about helping you create lasting change in your relationship to your anxiety, in order to support long-term relief.

Historical Trauma

I help individuals who are impacted by historical trauma by supporting their sense of agency and regulation in the present moment. My clinical approach is firm in the stance that experiencing relief from trauma does not require re-processing of the memory, unless that is determined by the individual to be right for them. Approaching this work together as a client impacted by historical trauma, your sense of safety with me in each moment is my absolute priority.

Codependency

Working with others to reclaim their sense of autonomy and relational health, is one of my clinical passions. Often, a complex history of relational trauma is at the root of codependent dynamics. I bring a perspective based in nervous system science and attachment theory, with emphases in mindfulness interventions and communication training, to help individuals heal patterns of codependency.

Self-Esteem

I often work with individuals who experience very high levels of self-criticism and have difficulty trusting themselves. Sometimes, this is linked to patterns of attachment or relational trauma, and/or exacerbated by current relationship dynamics. I integrate Mindfulness-based Self Compassion training into work with clients struggling in these areas, to help individuals connect with themselves in a new, more supportive way, reducing distress over time.