Erin Farmer, LCMHCA
she/her
Hi, I’m Erin Farmer and I am an LCMHCA located in Wilmington, NC.
I am a counselor who helps teens and adults feel like they are more equipped to handle what life throws at them. My approach to therapy is not to make the bad feelings or hard times go away, it’s to make sure you have the tools in your toolbox to feel equipped and empowered to build the life you want. As your therapist, I aim to have as many types of hammers, saws, and drills as possible available so we can create your own personalized set of tools for life.
My Approach to Therapy
Therapy with me always begins from a trauma-informed, person-centered lens. We work from a foundation of empathy and unconditional positive regard, with a lot of emphasis on building rapport and strengthening the therapeutic relationship. Many of the interventions used for are based in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy, but may also be drawn from empowerment therapy, narrative therapy, and Relational Cultural Therapy, or really whatever seems to click with you as the client. It may also include doing inner child work and other forms of Internal Family Systems or “parts” work, if that feels relevant or helpful. The focus is on you as a whole person, and that no one should have to leave any part of their identity behind.
It is important to acknowledge the inherent power imbalance that comes between counselor and client, and give you as much agency as possible when it comes to your treatment. Therapy should feel like a partnership. We are both showing up with our individualized set of knowledge and perspectives, and are working as a team to figure out how to best use those to get you where you want to be.
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Some think it is odd that I have degrees in both theater and psychology, but I think they couldn’t make more sense as a pair. Both studies ultimately come down to the questions of why people are the way that they are and why they do what they do. They both play to my strengths of empathy and compassion for others, even if I have not personally experienced what a client is describing. I’m also able to process information quickly and switch topics/therapy styles with ease, so I can match whatever energy you need me to in sessions! Who knew that going on countless auditions, memorizing all those lines, and belting musicals at the top of my lungs would lead to such a fulfilling career as a therapist?
We'd be a great fit if...
- You’re struggling to find closure in a justice system that doesn’t feel like it was made to protect you
- You’ve been the victim of a crime and are struggling to reconcile this with how you used to view the world
- You’re going through a life change and are struggling to establish a “new normal”
- You find yourself not being able to accept things in your life as they currently are.
- You need a place to be able to set down the weight you’ve been carrying, or just want someone to help you hold it up for a little while.
- You are a family struggling to communicate or establish routines that meet the needs of everyone equitably.
- You enjoy having a strong, non-judgemental, familiar relationship with your therapist
- You use humor to cope or find healing through laughter.
- You are 13 or older.
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Professional Bio
Erin graduated from Wake Forest University in 2018 with her B.A. in Psychology, as well as a B.A. in Theater, (and does consider herself to be a theater kid in remission). She moved to D.C. after graduating and worked in various community mental health and advocacy organizations before attending Marymount University in Arlington, VA. There, Erin obtained both an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and an M.A. in Forensic and Legal Psychology. She spent her internship working with victims and survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence for Fairfax County and volunteered as a court advocate. Erin used to visit Kure Beach with her family every summer while growing up which led her to move here after graduating in 2023. She wanted to give that gift to her inner child after making her be in school for so long! Since moving to Wilmington, she has worked in the community with families who have experienced trauma or are in crisis, and volunteers at the Rape Crisis Center doing hospital accompaniment for sexual assault survivors. Erin loves to walk on the beach and look for shells, especially if her beloved dog, Mari, is with her. Erin loves to read, play video games, and start, but never finish, various craft projects!
Accepted insurances: BCBS
Self pay rates: $115-$140
