Erika Torres, LMFT

Erika Torres is a licensed marriage and family therapist in California who helps people navigate stress, anxiety, relationship strain, parenting challenges, grief, and life transitions. She supports clients working on self-esteem, career decisions, addiction concerns, intimacy and anger, and issues related to adoption, body image, or immigration. Erika writes plainly and listens carefully in sessions. With 13 years of clinical experience, she blends practical strategies with a warm, direct style and occasional humor. Sessions focus on identifying strengths and setting clear, doable steps to move forward. She uses tools from cognitive behavioral therapy, solution-focused work, and motivational interviewing to help people notice patterns and try new behaviors. Erika’s style is empowering and supportive. She gives feedback and helps clients set realistic goals. Conversations are straightforward and aimed at finding what works day to day rather than relying on jargon. In the first meetings she learns what matters most and co-creates a plan tailored to each person. That plan may include skill practice between sessions, short experiments, and tracking progress. She encourages small changes that add up over time. People come to Erika for practical help with current problems and for clearer direction during big life changes. Her aim is to help clients build on their strengths so they can find more satisfaction and joy in daily life.

How online therapy uses practical approaches

Erika uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help people notice unhelpful thinking and try new behaviors. CBT often involves short experiments, thought records, and step-by-step plans to reduce anxiety, manage stress, and address mood or behavioral patterns.

She also draws on attachment-based ideas to look at how early relationships shape current expectations and emotional responses. That work can help with intimacy issues, caregiver stress, and family of origin concerns by clarifying patterns and building safer ways to relate.

Choosing the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will talk with the client about goals, preferences, and what has or hasn’t helped before. Together they decide which methods to try and adjust the plan as progress is made.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which let people fit therapy into busy lives. Video is useful for in-depth conversation and exercises, phone calls work well for lower bandwidth or a simpler check-in, and messaging supports brief check-ins or ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make it easier to keep momentum and practice new skills when it matters.