Dr. Erica Dunn

Hello! My name is Erica; I am a Registered Psychologist, working with individual adults and couples.

Finding the right fit with a psychologist is essential for successful counselling.  My hope is the information below helps you to learn more about how I work, who I work with, and who I am.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email me at erica(at)claritypsychology.ca.

Approach to Counselling:

Upon meeting you, my most important goal is to build a trusting, safe and supported relationship.  I do this through allowing the therapeutic process to unfold at a pace that is comfortable for you, providing gentle encouragement, using humour, asking meaningful questions, and meeting you with authentic empathy and validation. Once we have a shared understanding about why you have come to counselling and what you are hoping to get from the process, we discuss possible treatment options for how best to move forward.

When working with individuals, I most commonly work from a Cognitive-Behavioural orientation. This means that I work with you on how you are thinking and behaviours you are engaging in and explore where modifications might be possible to help you heal and grow. This does not mean that I will simply ask you to “think and act differently.”  Instead, we work together to 1) identify problematic, troubling, or distressing beliefs and behaviours, 2) understand the roots and function(s) of frequently occurring problematic beliefs and behaviours, including how these beliefs and behaviours may have been adaptive for you, and 3) work to challenge, soften, correct, and/or reframe the beliefs and behaviours.  

For some clients, an Emotionally-Focused orientation is more appropriate than a Cognitive-Behavioural approach.  When working from this lens, you and I will explore your experiences with emotional processing and better understand how earlier life and relationship experiences may be influencing challenging emotional reactions and coping behaviours. The goal of Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy is to help clients have a more coherent sense of self and healthier engagement with others in the outside world.

With couples, I draw from Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy.  Here, the goal is to help you and your partner understand your unique patterns of attachment and interaction and facilitate a more bonded and functional way of interacting. I do this through getting to know your history and the history of your partner, highlighting how past experiences may be influencing current patterns of interaction, and facilitating dialogues between you and your partner in a new way to help you better understand each partner’s fears and needs.  Because I took a break from this work during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am currently working with an experienced supervisor to enhance the quality of my care for couples.  At present, I only see couples in-person.

I am not rigid in my approach and welcome feedback on whether counselling is working for you. I am always happy to adjust how I work with clients to better meet their needs.

Education and Credentials:

• Registered Psychologist (#4231) with the College of Alberta Psychologists
• B.A. in Honours Psychology from the University of Waterloo
• M.Ed. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta
• Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta
• Awarded the 2021 Excellence in Clinical Supervision Award from the Psychologists’ Association of Alberta 
• Awarded the 2019 Peer-Nominated Service Excellence Award from the University of Alberta

Background / Experience:

I have 15 years of experience working with clients and engaging in counselling.  I graduated with my doctorate degree (PhD) from the University of Alberta in 2014 - one of only five nationally accredited programs in Canada.  My doctoral residency was completed at a university counselling centre, where I subsequently worked upon graduation for nine years. 

Since registering as a psychologist, I have completed a number of specialized trainings in various therapeutic approaches, including Prolonged Exposure for PTSD, Exposure & Response Prevention (Ex/RP) for OCD, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), Emotionally-Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), as well as trainings in a number of clinical presentations.

Services Offered:

• Individual Counselling 
• Couples / Marriage Counselling

Who I Work With:

At present, I work with individual adults (ages 18+), as well as couples.  I delight in working with adults and couples at various stages of life, including seniors. I have specialized training, experience and/or interest working with the following presenting concerns:

I have a deep commitment to learning about and better understanding the lived experience of minortizied and marginalized populations, including immigrants and refugees and LGBTQ2S+, BIPOC, and Indigenous folks, among others. I am always happy to learn alongside my clients and welcome clients presenting with concerns related to their experience of marginalization.  However, I also understand that lived experience of a clinician is important when opening up about such concerns and would be happy to connect anyone seeking referrals in this area to psychologists in the community, if they desire. 

Unfortunately, psychologists cannot be good at everything!  If you would like recommendations for excellent therapists serving children, youth, couples and families, or if you are seeking support for any of the following concerns, I would be happy to provide you referrals to psychologists in our clinic or the community who would be able to serve you very well:

About Me:

I hold many identities - I am a mother, wife, daughter, sister, auntie, friend, and dog mom, among others. The most important identity I share with my clients, however, is simply being human. I delight in building deep and meaningful relationships with others and sharing in the profoundly messy, complex and rewarding journey that is being human. I believe we all suffer, we are all flawed, and we are all resilient and that through effective support and self-exploration, we have a remarkable capacity for growth and healing. 

When I am not working, you can find me with my school-aged son and husband (a high school teacher in Edmonton), walking our dog in the River Valley, spending time with our family and friends, volunteering, or simply playing outside. I love baking, photography, my garden, running, and decorating. 

Of note, I have unique lived experience with a sister with severe intellectual disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder and appreciate any opportunity to work with family members who have navigated the highs and lows of similar circumstances.

Professional Memberships:

• Canadian Psychological Association 
• Psychologists’ Association of Alberta

Languages Spoken:

• English

Book an appointment with Dr. Erica Dunn