Ericka Santiago-Diaz (she/her)

LCSW, Ed.D, CCTP, ASDCS
Accepting Clients

Bilingual doctoral-level trauma therapy for narcissistic abuse survivors and late-diagnosed autistic and ADHD adults.

Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Neptune City, NJ

Services
  • Individual
  • Couples

About My Clients

You left, and everyone told you it should feel like relief. Instead you second-guess your memory and apologize for taking up space. That doubt is not a character flaw — it is what coercive control leaves behind. I work with adults recovering from narcissistic abuse and emotional control, and with autistic and ADHD adults diagnosed late or never, told for years they were too sensitive or not trying hard enough. Those two groups overlap constantly. I do not treat your neurodivergence as the probl

My Background and Approach

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a doctorate in education and certification as a Clinical Trauma Professional. I work in English and Spanish. Most of my career has been spent in two places people do not usually connect: with trauma survivors, and with autistic children and adults. I have conducted developmental and autism evaluations in family homes across New Jersey, supervised developmental paraprofessionals, completed psychological evaluations for immigration cases, and sat with couples and families trying to figure out whether what is happening between them is fixable. Doing all of that at once changed how I practice. I kept meeting autistic adults carrying trauma nobody had named, and trauma survivors whose sensory and processing differences had been read as symptoms for years. The two fields rarely talk to each other. I work in the overlap. I am also a writer. I develop workbooks and educational material for survivors of abuse and for neurodivergent adults, largely

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

★ Neurodivergence is not a disorder to be cured. Therapy that trains an autistic person to mask more convincingly is not treatment. It teaches them their own instincts are wrong — and it is frequently where the trauma I am later asked to treat began. ★ You cannot do couples therapy with an active abuser in the room. Coercive control is not a communication problem, and treating it like one hands the abusive partner a new vocabulary and a witness. I screen for it before conjoint work, and I will say no when the answer is no. ★ Neutrality about harm is not neutral. When a clinician declines to name abuse, the client hears that their read-on reality is still up for debate. That is the exact wound the abuse created. I will tell you it was abuse. A diagnosis is a key, not a cage. It should explain your life back to you and open doors to accommodation. If it is being used to narrow what you are permitted to want, something has gone wrong.

Techniques I Use

Specialties
Attachment Theory Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Trauma Therapy
Other Techniques
  • Attachment Theory
  • Couples Counseling
  • Gestalt Therapy
  • Psychodynamic Therapy
  • Solution Focused Brief Therapy
  • Trauma Therapy

Issues I Treat

Specialties
Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence LGBTQ-Friendly Therapists Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Other Issues
  • Abuse
  • ADHD Therapists
  • Anxiety
  • Attachment
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Bipolar
  • Child Issues
  • Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence
  • Polyamorous and Open Relationships
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Self-Harm
  • Sexual Abuse or Assault

At A Glance

  • Experience: 4 years of practice
  • Languages: English, Español
  • Rate: $175 - 200/session

Info

Email Ericka
635 Timber Ridge Court
Neptune City, NJ 07753-3030

Reach out to Ericka