Erica Franken, RCC

I support people who are curious about what their nervous system is communicating. I believe that that curiosity matters more than having the right words for what is happening. Many of the clients I see arrive knowing something in their body is asking for attention, and we begin there, at whatever pace feels right, safe and accessible.

I believe we each carry an inner intelligence that knows how to live the life we came here to live, fully and wholeheartedly. Our lived experience is full of opportunities to learn about ourselves and connect more deeply with what it means to be human. My practice is an invitation to sit in that space, where the human condition can be met without resistance; where we can be with our emotions without being in conflict with them, and begin to uncover who we are. 

My practice is trauma informed and somatic in orientation. I have training in Somatic Experiencing through Somatic Experiencing International. I am nearly complete my training as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. I draw on existential therapy and trauma recovery work as well. Alongside individual counselling, I have spent years facilitating groups and designing psycho-educational workshops on: emotional resilience and authentic communication and inner conflict in clinical, educational and organizational settings. Before counselling, I worked as a conflict management practitioner and taught at Yorkville University, where I later completed my M.A. in Counselling Psychology. That background in conflict, both the kind between people and the kind we carry inside, still shapes how I sit with clients.

What I hope to offer clients is presence; an openness to explore how the nervous system speaks, and a willingness to stay with what is difficult without rushing to fix it. Sessions are experiential. We follow the lead one's nervous system takes, we pay attention to what shows up in the body as well as in the story, and we make room for the parts of the experience that have not had anywhere to go.

I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors and a member of Somatic Experiencing International, and I see clients at The Healing Oak in Chilliwack. Outside the clinic, I enjoy spending time with my family, slowly trying to turn my thumb green, and exploring my spiritual practice.