01 · Who Erica works with

Erica works with stress, Anxiety, relationship issues and family conflicts

Erica lists 16 specialisms and 21 further focus areas. Specialisms are the subjects Erica chose to list first, which is the closest a listing gets to “this is my actual practice”.

02 · In Erica's own words

What Erica says about the work

Reproduced in full and unedited - not summarised, not tightened, not rewritten in a house voice.

About Hi! My name is Erica Smith Jimenez and I am a licensed marriage and family therapist. I work with individuals of all ages, couples, and families specializing in support for teens and parents.

I enjoy working with clients with a focus on assisting them in managing emotions, developing positive coping strategies, deepening relationships with others and navigating conflicts in their lives while fostering improved self-esteem.

I offer a safe space to dig into issues that are causing stagnation, sadness, frustration, pain, loneliness, and/or fear and focus on helping to foster more positive emotions with a non-judgmental and strength-based perspective. My style is direct, nurturing and down to earth. I bring an engaged and authentic presence to each session. I have seen, throughout my experience, how much positive change can occur when the optimal support is available, and I will routinely offer that to all my clients. It is with empathy, compassion, humility, experience, training and skill that I offer my clients a therapeutic relationship and tools for working through their struggles. Each person is unique with their own specific needs and I tailor my approach dependent upon those needs.

My goal is to provide my clients with tools needed so they can live a happier and healthier life!

Erica Smith Jimenez, on the BetterHelp listing · read 9 Oct 2026

03 · How Erica works

The 7 approaches Erica lists, in plain English

These are the clinical methods Erica lists. The descriptions are Maker Therapy's, not Erica's - a general explanation of what each method is, so the list means something before you have spoken to anybody. They are not a claim about how Erica runs a session.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Reads present-day relationship difficulty through the lens of how safety and closeness were learned early on. The therapeutic relationship itself is treated as part of the work, because it is where the pattern tends to show up first.

Client-Centred TherapyPerson-centred · Rogerian

The therapist does not steer toward a technique or a diagnosis. They offer sustained, non-judgemental attention and reflect back what they hear, on the premise that people find their own direction when they are genuinely listened to. Often what people mean by “someone who just gets it”.

Cognitive Behavioural TherapyCBT

Structured, present-focused work on the loop between what you think, how you feel and what you then do. Usually means noticing a thought pattern in the room, testing it against evidence, and practising something different between sessions. Among the most heavily researched talking therapies for depression and anxiety.

Emotionally Focused TherapyEFT

Built for couples and rooted in attachment: the recurring argument is treated as a cycle two people are stuck in rather than as one person's fault. Sessions work to interrupt the cycle and get to what each person is actually asking for underneath it.

Motivational InterviewingMI

A way of talking about change with somebody who is genuinely in two minds about it. The therapist does not argue for the change; they help you say your own reasons out loud, which is the part that predicts whether it happens. Common around substance use and health behaviour.

Narrative Therapy

Treats the story you tell about your life as something that can be examined and retold rather than as the plain facts. Separates the person from the problem - “the anxiety” rather than “your anxiety” - to make room for the parts the current story leaves out.

Trauma-Focused TherapyTF-CBT · trauma-informed

CBT adapted for people whose difficulty is rooted in a frightening or overwhelming event. Pacing is the point: safety and stabilisation come first, the memory itself is approached gradually and only when you are ready, and the aim is that recalling it stops hijacking the present.

04 · What happens next

From this page to a first session

Erica practises through BetterHelp, so the route in is BetterHelp's. This is that sequence, written by Maker Therapy from the platform's published process - not a description of Erica's own practice, and not a promise about how quickly anything happens.

1. A questionnaire, not a booking form

   BetterHelp opens with a set of questions about what you are dealing with, what you want from therapy, and any preferences on the therapist. You are not booking Erica at this point.

2. Naming Erica specifically

   BetterHelp matches algorithmically by default, so asking for Erica is a step you have to take. There is a field for requesting a specific therapist during sign-up, and you can switch afterwards from your account. Starting from a link on this page does not by itself assign you to Erica.

3. If the caseload is full

   You will be offered somebody else rather than put on a waitlist. Worth knowing, because it is easy to assume a match is the person you asked for.

4. The first conversation

   A first session is typically history and orientation: what brought you, what has been tried, what you want to be different. It is also where the questions in the next section belong.

5. If the fit is wrong

   Changing therapist on BetterHelp does not need a reason. A first session that does not click is common and is not a verdict on therapy. That option existing is the main practical difference between a platform and a private practice.

05 · Before you commit

4 questions worth asking Erica

Built from what Erica actually lists, so they are answerable and specific rather than generic. Maker Therapy's, not Erica's - Erica has not seen them and is under no obligation to answer any of them.

• “You list both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Attachment-Based Therapy. Which do you lean on with someone like me?”

  Those two point in different directions - one structured and led by the therapist, the other led by you. The answer tells you what the sessions will actually feel like.

• “How do you decide when someone is ready to work on a traumatic memory itself?”

  Pacing is the biggest safety question in trauma work. A clear, unhurried answer here matters more than any credential.

• “With 23 years in, what has changed most in how you work?”

  Long experience is only an advantage if it has been examined. This tends to surface whether it has.

• “How do you handle the gap between sessions if something comes up?”

  On BetterHelp this varies a great deal by therapist. Better to know the rhythm now than to discover it on a bad week.

06 · Practical details

Credentials and licensing

Credential

LMFT

Licensed in

California

Licence

CA LMFT 114605

Licence number

114605

Licence expires

31 Jul 2027

NPI

1083847057

Years in practice

23

Gender

Female

Languages

English

International clients

Not accepted

Listed since

15 May 2026

07 · Provenance

Where every line on this page came from

Erica's name, credential, state, subjects, approaches and biography are read from BetterHelp's therapist roster, which Maker Therapy re-reads once a day; this page reflects the reading taken on 9 Oct 2026. The licence number and NPI are cross-checked against public registers.

The plain-English method descriptions, the first-session walkthrough and the questions are written by Maker Therapy and labelled as such wherever they appear.

Maker Therapy is not BetterHelp, does not take bookings, and has not met Erica. There are no reviews or ratings on this page because we have no way to verify one. If you start therapy through a link here, we may be paid a commission - it does not change your price and it does not affect who appears here or in what order.

Something on this page wrong or out of date? Report it and it will be checked against the source.