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ABOUT US
About Erica
I am a skilled, dedicated and compassionate dually Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (New York and Florida) helping adults, teens, couples and families cope and overcome challenging times in their lives.
Women play a myriad of roles in their daily loves, from mother to caregiver to professional to spouse/partner. However, regardless of the role we are assuming at any given moment on any given day/hour, we all try to perform our responsibilities with dedication, devotion and skill. However, just because we all play different roles, doesn't necessarily mean that we have found our calling in life - our purpose - our life's passion.
It took me many years and experiences to reach this time in my life when I was ready and able to focus all of my energies on my true passion, calling and destiny: providing marriage and family therapy services to help others achieve meaningful change, understanding, perspective and coping skills to face challenges facing them.
Erica H. Epstein, LMFT
Erica's Intro
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My Background & Philosophy
How I Became The Woman I Am
Most important to me is my role as mother to two beautiful children, a boy and a girl, who are both teenagers. I am also a wife, daughter, sister, friend, and therapist. I was born and grew-up in Brooklyn, New York, and then lived on Long Island after marrying Eric in 1998, before relocating to Florida in 2008.
I hold two Masters Degrees: one in Marriage and Family Therapy (Nova Southeastern University) and the other in Early Childhood/Elementary Education (Adelphi University). I began my professional career helping others as a teacher in the New York City Public School system, where I taught for about 12 years. After my husband and I relocated to South Florida in 2008, I operated and was the full-time Director of a large pre-school in West Palm Beach - where I had the privilege and honor to work with a diverse group of professional educators and children. During this time, I continued my focus on helping mothers, fathers and families with various aspects of raising and educating their children, and dealing with the myriad of life's challenges, such as economics, ethnicity, financial, intimate-partner violence, and other serious difficulties.
After more than 20 years working with children and families, I decided to focus my energy and follow my passion to formally help individuals, couples and families with their relationships and mental health needs and went back to earn my second advanced degree. I have always had my heart set on providing marriage and family therapy services to individuals, families, and couples who are encountering challenges and difficulties along their life's journey. My search for personal fulfillment required me to peel away multiple layers of my personality to expose my core and truly understand who I am as a person, and in what ways I can be of assistance to others. As part of my introspection, I thought about my life, my experiences, and how I viewed the world. My most enlightening reflection and understanding came when I honestly thought about the hand I have been dealt from a new and reframed perspective; a perspective that is admittedly difficult to achieve and embrace.
My Philosophy
I focus on supporting self-efficacy in my clients, and I want to share my expertise and knowledge that has helped carry me through those dark times that often aren’t spoken about or brushed aside. The very essence of exposing those feelings is what I engage clients to do. Being able to uncover the fluid social constructs or stories that are subject to re-vision; being able to have the ability to re-author one’s story to serve them suitably can itself create greater purpose and meaning. I want everyone to realize their potential and see the good, bad, and everything in-between. Together, we can collaborate to understand and respect your reality and story, as I believe the client is the real expert in their own life.
My approach utilizes a systemic viewpoint which analyzes how an individual's behavior makes sense in context to their reality, and how it's impacted by relationships - which can be an impediment to change. I also adhere to attachment-based theory - which focuses on how an individual formed early attachment with their caregivers and how that plays-out in future relationships. I appreciate the importance of a strong alliance between myself and my client. I pledge to bring empathy, warmth, and respect to our relationship. Each of us has a story to tell - based upon the life we have led and the experiences we have encountered. How we interpret these stories impacts our behaviors and views of the world and others. I will be honored if you allow me to work with you in uncovering your life's stories and helping you to understand and interpret them in new, exciting and freeing ways.
I firmly believe that safety, security and trust is essential to an effective clinician-client relationship. My approach is a combination of reflective listening with purposeful action. If you are having difficulty or are experiencing challenges in your individual life or interpersonal relationships, I will work with you towards a goal of redefining and relabeling symptoms that are functioning like weights around your ankles holding you back from discovering your true destiny. I have experienced similar struggles along my self-discovery journey, and understand that exploring these issues is necessary to start the healing process. Give yourself permission to live free of limitations.
Questions I Investigate With Clients
As Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, we firmly adhere to the belief that the person isn't the problem - the problem is the problem. That means that when we work with a client, regardless if an adult, teen, couple, or family, I don't see or view the person as being the problem. Rather, my focus is on how a situation or condition in his life become a problem for them (individually or in relationship to others). This perspective is fundamental to my focus on patterns and relationships. We work with teens to discover how they relate to others in their life, how those relationships impact their own identity, and how to cope and adapt to their ever-changing nature. Most importantly, we accept our clients where they are in life – and do not focus on changing them. Remember, it's the problem that's the problem!
About Eric
ERIC is Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (New York and Florida), a New York and Florida licensed attorney with 29+ years experience, and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator.
NON-JUDGMENTAL, empathetic and experienced therapist specializing in helping Couples, Men, Families and Professionals. During my life’s journey, I have gone through periods where I felt overwhelmed, stuck or simply confused as to how to open-up and explore my emotions as a man in our society. I understand the challenge that men often experience letting down their guard to freely explore their emotions in their lives and relationships.
Eric B. Epstein, LMFT
Eric's Intro
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My Background & Philosophy
How I Became The Man I Am
I am the proud father of two teenage children (a boy and a girl). Through the process of raising and caring for my daughter - who has 'special-needs' - and dealing with typical parenting challenges and many extraordinary experiences, I came to realize that families and parents all have unique challenges and emotionally-trying times in their lives - often without compassionate and sensitive professionals to lend assistance when needed. As a result, I decided to rededicate myself and my professional career to help people, couples and families deal with and overcome the many difficult, stressful and emotional challenges in their lives.
I was born and grew-up in Brooklyn, New York, and then lived on Long Island after marrying Erica in 1998, before relocating to Florida in 2008. I firmly believe that continuing to learn and grow is very important to my professional development and my growth as a person. I've earned multiple degrees from various institutions. In 1991, I graduated from the New York University's Stern school of Business with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. I then attended the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City, and graduated in 1994 with a Juris Doctor Degree. In 2018, I earned a Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University.
I've been a practicing attorney for 29+ years. In my role as a divorce mediator, I am dedicated to solely helping couples resolve divorce issues in a peaceful manner via my PeacefulSplit® Divorce Mediation service. I've had extensive experience working with men and women who are struggling to overcome use and abuse of external stimuli.
My unique background of having helped clients for over 29 years navigate some of the most challenging times in their lives has provided me with a deep insight into the various challenges that people and families go through in life and the need for experienced, effective and sensitive professional help.
By combining my formal education with my years of professional experience as an therapist, attorney and mediator, I effectively help my clients navigate life's issues and problems in a manner that always respects their reality and honors their perspectives and views in life.
My Philosophy
There are many therapists out there who see therapy strictly as a business. Their first goal is to obtain clients (whom they often refer to as patients). Next, they focus on keeping that patient as a client for as long as possible.
I don't believe that therapy is a life-long process that requires years and years of ongoing weekly sessions. Rather, I am dedicated to helping clients analyze their presenting problems or concerns, create "SMART" goals ('specific,' 'measurable,' 'achievable,' 'relevant,' and 'time-based'), and then together with my client, co-create a practical road-map to achieve their goals.
In sessions, I don't adhere to the traditional pattern of delving into the minutiae of childhood and every prior relationship. Rather, I focus on analyzing past and current patterns of behavior in your various relationships to recognize which patterns are working and which are not. Once we determine what negative patterns exist, why they exist, what purpose they serve, etc., we work together to break those patterns to create new and more effective and satisfying patterns of behaviors for you.
I also work with clients from a narrative-based theoretical model - which focuses on the dominant stories we have told ourselves or which have been told about us that have created or maintained our view of self and the masks we often wear in life and in different relationships.
Some therapists have a model or philosophy that they strictly adhere to. When they work with a client, it becomes necessary to mold that therapeutic model to the client's needs. I believe in the opposite. When providing therapy to clients, I figure out the client's needs and then apply a therapeutic model or philosophy that best serves the client's unique needs. Let me put it another way. If you went to a restaurant for dinner and told the waitress that you were allergic to dairy, would you want the chef to just remove dairy from his recipe and serve you the dish - regardless of how it would taste? Or would you prefer that the chef modify the recipe to meet your unique needs and then serve you a delicious dish without dairy?
My most fundamental therapy philosophy is that the "problem" is not the "person." Rather, I view my clients as being in a relationship with their issue or problem - and we work together to understand that relationship and to create interventions to make that relationship healthier and productive in your life.
Questions I Investigate With Clients
As Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, we firmly adhere to the belief that the person isn't the problem - the problem is the problem. That means that when we work with a client, regardless if an adult, teen, couple, or family, I don't see or view the person as being the problem. Rather, my focus is on how a situation or condition in his life become a problem for them (individually or in relationship to others). This perspective is fundamental to my focus on patterns and relationships. We work with teens to discover how they relate to others in their life, how those relationships impact their own identity, and how to cope and adapt to their ever-changing nature. Most importantly, we accept our clients where they are in life – and do not focus on changing them. Remember, it's the problem that's the problem!
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