Irina Erickson

Hi, I’m Irina — and I believe mental health care should feel intentional,discerning, and deeply human.

My path into mental health counseling wasn’t linear, it began with my own experience with depression.

For years, I lived alongside it quietly. On the outside, I was high-functioning, creative, driven, building a career in fashion after studying at NYU. On the inside, I was expending enormous energy just to stay afloat. Depression has a way of narrowing your world. It can make even capable, intelligent people doubt their stability, their future, and themselves.

What ultimately changed my life wasn’t a single insight or intervention. It was learning how to care for my mental health with structure and intention, through lifestyle shifts, self-understanding, meaningful connection, and building what I now think of as a personal mental health infrastructure. I became deeply invested in understanding not only how to recover, but how to reduce vulnerability to relapse and create a life that actively supports emotional stability.

At first, this work was disciplined curiosity paired with lived experience. I shared what I was learning with people around me through my podcast Over time, it became clear that I wanted to engage this work at a deeper level. After extensive reflection, I enrolled in counseling training at Northwestern University, a decision that gave clinical language, structure, and rigor to what I had been developing intuitively for years. Through this process, I found my professional footing.

Today, my work sits at the intersection of clinical training and lived understanding. I know what it feels like to be on the other side of the couch, to fear regression, to want growth without destabilization, and to need care that is both supportive and sophisticated.

My vision for my practice is clear: To offer a higher standard of mental health care. One that is unhurried, intentional, and tailored. One that looks beyond symptom management and considers the full context of a person’s life.