About Erik
Erik Tootell is a California psychologist with four decades of clinical experience. He helps people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, trauma or abuse, grief, depression, and attention or concentration concerns. He aims to make the first step toward change feel manageable and respectful.
He sets a calm, nonjudgmental tone so clients can talk about difficult feelings. Sessions focus on practical ways to reduce overwhelming emotions and improve day-to-day functioning.
Background and approach
Memory and concentration problems are addressed with straightforward strategies and pacing. Erik draws on long experience treating trauma and grief, helping people find ways to carry painful memories while moving forward. He works with clients to develop coping skills that fit their daily routines.
Conversations often include building clearer routines and improving problem solving. When attention or focus is an issue, he helps people identify patterns that get in the way and experiments with small changes. He also supports those coping with chronic illness, caregiving stress, or life transitions that affect mood and behavior.
The approach is collaborative and grounded in what the client reports is working or not working. Erik holds the credential CA Psychologist 21367 and practices in California. He offers a steady presence and practical guidance for people seeking more stability, clearer thinking, and relief from persistent worry or sadness.
How therapeutic approaches translate to online care
Erik uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques focused on helping people manage symptoms and improve daily functioning. One common approach he relies on is skills-based work that teaches concrete coping strategies for anxiety, stress, and grief; this involves practicing techniques between sessions to reduce overwhelm. Another element often used is trauma-focused problem solving, which helps people make sense of difficult experiences and develop steady ways to handle triggers and painful memories.Finding the right approach is part of the process. Erik collaborates with each person to decide which techniques to try first based on their goals, current problems, and what feels manageable. He adjusts methods over time and checks in about what is helping and what needs to change.
Online therapy makes this collaboration flexible. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation for longer sessions and exercises that benefit from visual cues. Phone sessions are useful when internet bandwidth is limited or for shorter check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging let people share updates between meetings and fit care into busy days. These formats help people access consistent support while balancing work, caregiving, or health needs.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
Also listed
- Abandonment
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- First responder issues
- Guilt and shame
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Somatization
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
- Experience
- 40 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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