Speaking & Training

Clinically grounded. Practically useful. Honest.

Inquire about Speaking & Training

I partner with mental health organizations, conferences, clinical teams, and leadership groups who want work that is rooted in real practice — not recycled slide decks.

My speaking covers two distinct but connected areas: EMDR clinical practice for professional and clinical audiences, and trauma-informed systems, accessibility, and equity for clinical and organizational audiences. Both draw from over a decade of direct practice, group practice ownership, lived experience with chronic illness, and a career spent watching well-meaning organizations perform change rather than make it.

Who this work is for

(and who it isn’t)

Good Fit

  • Mental health clinicians and group practices

  • EMDR practitioners and training programs

  • Nonprofits and community organizations

  • Healthcare and helping professionals

  • Conferences serving clinical or general public audiences

  • Leadership teams navigating equity, burnout, or systemic stress

  • Organizations wanting to build genuinely trauma-informed cultures

Not a good Fit List

  • Organizations looking for a one-off DEI appearance with no follow-through

  • Teams seeking polished language without accountability

  • Groups unwilling to address power, policy, or actual impact

an image of a red sticker on a metal pole outside, the sticker says "do you want a future of decency equality and real social justice"

Topics Areas

EMDR Clinical Practice

For clinical and professional audiences — therapists, supervisors, group practice owners, and conference attendees with mental health backgrounds

  • EMDR Preparation Phase: What We Skip and Why It Matters

  • The Natural Preparation Framework: Weaving Assessment into Preparation

  • Window of Tolerance in Practice: Beyond the Diagram

  • EMDR with Clients Living with Chronic Illness

  • EMDR and Racial Trauma: Navigating Protocol Limitations

  • EMDR for Children and Adolescents: Trauma Interventions That Actually Work

  • What EMDR Certification Actually Requires — and Why It's Worth It

  • Building an EMDR-Informed Group Practice

Trauma, Systems & Equity

For clinical, organizational, and general public audiences

  • Racial Trauma & Systemic Harm in Clinical and Organizational Spaces

  • Accessibility, Chronic Illness, and What Inclusive Actually Means

  • Moving Beyond Performative DEI in Healthcare and Mental Health

  • Trauma, Chronic Stress, and Burnout in Helping Professionals

  • Anti-Oppressive Clinical Practice: From Framework to Application

  • Supporting Clinicians and Staff Amid Political and Social Stress

  • Fostering Cultural and Professional Identity in Clinical Supervision

  • Faith and Trauma: Navigating the Intersection in Practice

  • Trauma Therapy Interventions with Children and Adolescents

**All topics can be adapted for audience, setting, and length. Custom topics available based on organizational need.

My approach

Trauma-focused

Grounded in how stress, power, and systems show up in bodies, teams, and organizations.

Clinically specific

I don't speak in generalities. I bring actual clinical frameworks, real case examples (appropriately de-identified), and tools people can use the next day.

Anti-oppressive and systems-aware

We look beyond individual behavior to policies, structures, and culture.

Practical, not theoretical

Attendees leave with language, frameworks, and next steps — not just awareness and a nice quote for their Instagram.

Honest

I don't do keynotes that make people feel good and change nothing. I aim for something more useful than that.

Past Speaking Engagements & Organizations

Erica has presented for and partnered with:

  • North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work

  • Wake AHEC (NC AHEC)

  • Southern Regional AHEC (NC AHEC)

  • Trauma Institute & Child Trauma Institute

  • Touchstone Institute

  • The Oley Foundation

  • IBM — Black History Month 2020 (Stand With Me)

  • Kepro — Making a Life While Making a Living: Work-Life Synergy (2021)

A few of Erica’s podcast appearances:

View Erica’s Speaker Sheet.

  • "Loved this workshop! Ethics CEs tend to be repetitive and not practical, but Erica did an excellent job of engaging us while providing practical educational information and tools to make our practices more accessible."

    —Former Customer

  • "Wow! Erica is a skilled presenter! She elaborated on the printed slides effectively and extrapolated from the questions with practical and illustrative answers. Thank you for this workshop. It increased my awareness of accessibility needs and gave me the language to use." -Former Customer

  • "Best ethics workshop I've attended in years. Very practical yet attentive to theoretical underpinnings of why this matters so much, which go to the foundation of social work practice."—Former Customer

Formats & Logistics

  • Keynotes

  • Workshops (60–90 minutes)

  • Half-day or full-day trainings

  • Panel participation

  • Virtual or in-person (travel fees apply for in-person engagements outside the Raleigh, NC area)

Pricing: Speaking engagements start at $300/hour for smaller organizations and events. Pricing varies based on organization size, required prep work, travel, and topic customization. Reach out to discuss.

If you’re looking for work that is thoughtful, grounded, and honest—and you’re willing to engage beyond surface-level change—I’d love to hear more about what you’re hoping to build.

Inquire about Speaking / Training