Erica Veno RCSWI

My addiction expertise is grounded in over a decade of professional experience across inpatient, outpatient, and substance use treatment settings, including work as a lead therapist. I also bring 14 years of personal recovery, combining clinical knowledge with lived experience. I am passionate about harm reduction and offer compassionate, judgment-free support to help clients understand underlying issues, prevent relapse, strengthen coping skills and combat triggers.

My expertise in ADHD is informed by both professional knowledge and personal experience. I understand the frustration of impulsivity, difficulty managing time, disorganization, and feeling overwhelmed by everyday demands. I can teach you how to manage impulsive patterns and develop practical systems for time management and organization. I help clients recognize their strengths, work with their brains rather than against them, and create realistic strategies that support lasting change.

My expertise in anxiety combines professional training with lived experience, including navigating panic disorder as a child. I understand how overwhelming anxiety can feel and how deeply it can affect daily life. I am passionate about using CBT to help clients recognize and challenge cognitive distortions, reduce avoidance, and build practical coping skills. My approach balances compassion with honesty, offering support while gently challenging patterns that keep anxiety in control.

I use CBT to help clients question the stories anxiety, shame, trauma, and addiction have taught them to believe. Together, we uncover the thoughts driving painful emotions and self-defeating patterns, then turn insight into practical change. My style is compassionate but direct. I will meet you without judgment while honestly challenging the beliefs keeping you stuck. The goal is not simply to think positively, but to think more clearly, respond intentionally, and reclaim control.

I use Motivational Interviewing to help clients uncover their own reasons for change rather than telling them what they should do. My questions are never one-size-fits-all; they are shaped by each person’s story, values, contradictions, and hopes. I have a knack for asking unexpected, thought-provoking questions that make you pause, look beneath the obvious, and discover answers you may not have realized were already within you.

I use ACT to help clients loosen the grip of difficult thoughts rather than argue with every word the mind produces. Through acceptance, mindfulness, cognitive defusion, and values exploration, we create space for discomfort without allowing it to make every decision. ACT is not about waiting to feel better before living—it is about becoming more psychologically flexible, choosing what matters, and taking meaningful action even when fear, doubt, or pain comes along for the ride.