Issues / Trauma & Relationships
Heal the past so love can feel safe.
When old wounds show up in present love, the work isn't to try harder — it's to heal what's underneath. Therapy makes that possible.
The reality
If any of this sounds familiar...
You react bigger than the moment warrants.
Closeness can feel terrifying.
You know your story, but knowing isn't enough.
You want to love and be loved without flinching.
Why this happens
It isn't because you're broken.
Implicit memory
Trauma lives in the body, not just the story.
Protective parts
What looks like sabotage is often protection — running an outdated program.
Co-regulation
We were wounded in relationship. We heal in relationship too.
You don't have to keep doing this alone.
Book a free 15-min callHow therapy helps
What actually changes in the room.
- A trauma-informed, paced approach.
- Somatic work alongside talk.
- Parts work to meet what's protecting you.
- Building a felt sense of safety inside love.
Our approach
Evidence-based, relationship-centered.
Erica draws from a range of frameworks and tailors the work to what you actually need — never a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Our primary lens. EFT looks beneath the surface fight to the attachment fears underneath — and rebuilds emotional safety from the ground up.
Internal Family Systems
Each of us carries protective parts into our relationships. IFS helps you understand what you're carrying and how it shows up in moments of disconnection.
Attachment Theory
Your earliest relationships shape how you give and receive love today. Naming your attachment style helps the charged moments make sense.
Trauma-Informed Therapy
We move at the pace of your nervous system. Healing happens when it feels safe enough to feel.
Narrative Therapy
The story you tell about your relationship shapes how you live it. Together we examine the dominant narratives and write new ones.
Somatic & Nervous System Work
Conflict lives in the body. We build capacity to stay present, regulated, and connected — even when it gets hard.
Common challenges
What we help with.
What success looks like
Not better communication. Something deeper.
Your reactions feel proportionate.
Closeness feels less dangerous.
You're not white-knuckling your relationship anymore.
Love feels like a place you can live.
Where we work
Serving Long Island and all of New York.
In-person sessions are held at the Garden City office. Secure telehealth is available anywhere in New York State — convenient for clients across Nassau, Suffolk, NYC, Westchester, and beyond.
- Garden City
- Nassau County
- Long Island
- Queens
- New York City
- Telehealth across NY
What clients say
Quiet, lasting change.
"We came in barely speaking and left actually liking each other again. Erica made the conversations we'd been avoiding for years finally possible."
"After eighteen years and two kids, we'd quietly become roommates. Erica helped us remember why we chose each other — and gave us a way back."
"We finally understood our pattern. I'd push, he'd pull away, we'd both feel alone. Naming it didn't fix it overnight — but it ended the loop."
"I came in for couples therapy and accidentally got my life back too. The work Erica does is the rare kind that actually lasts."
"We didn't know if we wanted to stay together. Five discernment sessions later, we did — with more clarity than we'd had in years."
"After the affair, I genuinely didn't think we'd survive it. The work was slow and honest. A year in, we are actually closer than before."
Composite quotes reflecting common themes in Erica's practice. Real identifying details are protected.
Common questions
Things people often ask.
Connection Counseling is a private-pay practice. We provide superbills you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement, and we're happy to help you understand your benefits before your first session.
Healing happens in safe relationship.
A 15-minute call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Just a conversation about where you are.