If you are in crisis, call or text 988 — the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.

Erika MitchellTherapy

Resources

Things worth reading, trying, and knowing

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Structure demo. Every row marked ****PLACEHOLDER**** below is a proposed piece that has not been written yet — the title and one-line summary are a content plan, each targeting a search people in Los Angeles are actually typing. The page structure, internal links, and schema are already in place. As a piece is written, replace its row with a real link; delete any row that never gets written, rather than shipping an empty promise.

Start here

How to know whether you need therapy — or just a hard season

The difference between a rough stretch and a pattern, and what usually tips the balance.

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What actually happens in a first therapy session

A plain walkthrough, for people who have never done this before.

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How to find a therapist in Los Angeles who is a real fit

What to ask on a consultation call, and which answers matter.

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Trauma & the nervous system

Why insight isn’t enough: understanding your body’s alarm system

Why you can understand a pattern completely and still live inside it.

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Somatic EMDR vs. traditional EMDR: what’s different and who it’s for

Companion piece to the Somatic EMDR guide.

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Freeze, shutdown, and numbness: when nothing is the response

The most misunderstood trauma response, and what helps.

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Signs of childhood emotional neglect in high-functioning adults

What it looks like when nothing obviously bad ever happened.

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Relationships & attachment

The pursue–withdraw cycle, and how couples get out of it

An Emotionally Focused Therapy view of the argument you keep having.

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Why asking for what you need feels dangerous

Where the risk was learned, and how it gets unlearned.

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Repair after conflict: the skill that predicts whether couples last

Rupture is inevitable; repair is trainable.

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Practices you can try today

Orienting: a 60-second practice for a nervous system on alert

Slow, deliberate looking around the room — and why it works.

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Where do you feel it? A short body-scan script

An audio version is planned for this one.

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Naming feelings when you can’t find the word

A printable feelings-and-needs sheet.

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Books I recommend often

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On trauma and the body

Three to four titles with a sentence each on who each one is for.

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On relationships and attachment

Three to four titles, same treatment.

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Podcasts & talks

A handful of episodes worth an hour of your commute.

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If you need support right now

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Immediate crisis

  • 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call or text, 24/7
  • Crisis Text Line — text HOME to 741741
  • 911 for a medical or safety emergency

Los Angeles County

  • LA County Dept. of Mental Health Help Line — (800) 854-7771, 24/7
  • 211 LA — housing, food, and social services

Specific support

  • National Domestic Violence Hotline — (800) 799-7233
  • The Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ youth) — (866) 488-7386
  • SAMHSA National Helpline — (800) 662-4357

Finding lower-fee therapy

  • Open Path Collective — reduced-fee private practice sessions
  • Community mental health clinics and university training clinics across LA
  • Ask me on a consultation call — I keep a referral list

Reading is a fine place to start. It isn’t the whole thing.

If something here landed, a free consultation call is the next step. Fifteen minutes, no cost, no commitment.

Schedule a Free Consultation