Erin Karcher

My Background and Approach

My work is trauma-informed and person-centered: focus on the client's story is key. In relational therapy, we use a solution-focused and emotionally aware lens to attune with unheard needs, teach communication skills, and discover a more harmonious way of interacting. With individuals, we explore past and present to inform the emergence of your fullest self. I believe in being invested in the stories and people in front of you, whether as a professional or a friend; my style of therapy blends story and self using warmth, curiosity, and a sprinkling of respectful humor. I believe in using all wisdom in the room to create your best outcome - we both show up to therapy as our whole selves, and go forward together.

Our Values as Mental Health Practitioners

My therapeutic philosophy focuses on intersections of identity messaging, largely based in intersectional feminist theory (created by Kimberlé Crenshaw) and attunement. Internalized oppression looks at different intersections of your identity, and the shapes you hold because of it. All of us are shaped by the politics of our time. We learn to oppress ourselves from a young age. To be alive in this world is to be aware of what is touching us. Star City Therapy practices politicized healing; recognizing that systemic oppression fundamentally shapes who we are regardless of whether we hold a marginalized or privileged position in our various intersections. Seeking liberation from these internalized narratives is a lifelong process. You may never have experienced looking at these types of messaging before, or you may be acutely aware of them. Not every session expressly focuses on that process, but over time, we will carefully examine how the internalized messages might be at play.