Nice to meet you

ABOUT ME

Hello there, my name is Erica Hardy, and my pronouns are she/her.

As a mental health practitioner there is the expectation that clients will at some point be able to share their innermost selves with me so it is only fair that to make this process a little easier I share a little of myself with you so here goes...

Where to begin!... Well, first and foremost, I consider myself to be a very family-orientated person. I love all forms of crafting that I find very therapeutic and relaxing. I enjoy traveling, spending time with my family and friends, getting lost in a good book, and long country walks. Oh yes, I also like to sing (usually very loudly in the shower!).

I love all seasons of the year, some more than others but I can appreciate the wonders of each of them as they unfold. I’m not a big fan of spiders, especially the big hairy variety with visible fangs. And like most other people, I have experienced my life challenges and personal struggles.

A thankfully temporary life-threatening condition I developed at the age of 32 left me with an enhanced appreciation of the fragility of life in all its many forms.

I started out many years ago as an Early Years Practitioner. Working with small, loud, curious and very energetic children was both challenging, fun and very physically demanding.

Several years down the line I began to consider how much longer my knees and back could withstand the physical demands of working with little ones, as adorable as they were. I decided, not for much longer, so it was off to University for me where I studied to become a Community Based Social Worker supporting identified families in need. A very demanding but highly rewarding job!

Social work increasingly highlighted the impact the personal challenges, struggles, experiences, and the many varied responses to them had upon the families I worked with, from which my specific interest in mental health grew.

In 2018 I decided to embark upon a career as a Therapeutic Counsellor. I studied, trained, underwent assessments, built up a professional portfolio of client work, and sat exams that eventually enabled me to qualify as a Registered Person Centered Counsellor.

My work as a Person Centered Counsellor facilitated positive changes for the people I initially worked with, enabling them to be able to work through and resolve personal challenging issues and trauma that had previously caused difficulties and disturbances within their lives.

Completion of a CBT Diploma in the Spring of 2023 enabled me to be able to expand upon the level of service provision I was able to offer my clients. I have since undertaken further training based on Brief Solution Focused Therapy that I am now able to offer to clients also as part of my ever-expanding service provision.

Additional training has enabled me to be able to work with a much broader range of complex issues that clients may present with, and most importantly be able to offer to them, the right level of support when it is needed.

As a Person-Centered CBT Practitioner, I have the ongoing privileged position of being able to enable people from all walks of life to better be able to understand their problems and challenges.

I provide a safe, confidential, supportive, and non-judgmental therapeutic space for people to develop a deeper understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and emotional responses that will guide them toward being able to make those positive and desirable changes within their lives.

My therapeutic methods

Person-centered therapy

This is centered around the view that every individual has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change when provided with the right support and conditions.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

SFBT is a strength-based approach to Psychotherapy based on solution-building rather than problem-solving.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

In cognitive therapy, the focus is on what people think rather than what they do and creates lasting behavioural changes.

My professional experience

Bachelor's degree in Social Work

Lincoln University

Education

Accreditations

Experience

Bariatric Weight Management Support

National Health Service (NHS)

Person-Centered Counselling (BACP)

Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy Diploma

Brief Solution-Focused Therapy Diploma

Have any questions?

If you have any questions about the therapies, feel free to contact me.

Doloress K.

Therapy has really helped me overcome some past trauma I had been keeping under a lid for a long time. Now, I feel happier and more confident in my life, and feel like I can walk with my head held high.

Anthony M.

Coming from a competitive sports background, the injury that ended up making me give up my career was a hard blow. With therapy, I was able to start building my identity around other things than just sport.

Happy clients

(Names have been changed to maintain privacy)