Erin Scully

Erin Scully is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level 2 (CCTP-II) who specializes in LGBTQIA+ issues, gender identity, transgender health, trauma-related disorders, and mental wellness for medical providers. She works in collaboration with her clients to find the best route to healing. Her style is integrative and involves mindfulness, art, yoga, spirituality, and traditional talk therapy. She is always open to suggestions and feedback.

Please visit my website for more information: https://www.eternalsunshinecounseling.com

What was your path to becoming a therapist?

I've spent my entire adult life studying psychology and mental wellness. I've always been attracted to helping and healing professions. Psychology was one of the only subjects that I immediately understood and fell in love with. I am well-suited to be a therapist because of my love of psychology and my ability to approach people’s stories with curiosity and compassion. I believe each person is an expert on their own lives and I need their input in order to help them. I've worked primarily in correctional facilities and substance use facilities and completed my internship in a university counseling center. I have had the unique experience of assessing and treating a wide array of mental health disorders, including complex trauma and PTSD, depression and anxiety, severe psychotic disorders, dissociative disorders, and substance use disorders, all within high-risk, fast-paced, and high-volume environments.

What should someone know about working with you?

I like to take a collaborative approach with clients and set realistic goals that work well with that client’s lifestyle, schedule, and skill set. I trust that each individual client is the expert on their own life and I aim to make each person feel comfortable enough to tell me what they do and do not need to create the most successful and attainable goals possible. I am flexible and encourage clients to tell me if a goal needs to be adjusted or changed completely. I trust that clients want to put in the work to feel happier and healthier, which is why I believe it’s necessary to create space for them to do so.

If you could pick one movie or book that influenced your approach to therapy, what would it be and why?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) is a movie that has a lot of personal and professional significance to me. This science-fiction movie depicts two people who erase the memories of one another after a painful breakup. The story follows the main character, Joel, and his experience of the memory erasure process and his realization that he doesn’t want to forget his ex-partner, Clementine. The two find their way back to each other, as it is a positive love story. This movie has informed my therapeutic approach as well as my personal philosophy because the moral of the story is that it is difficult to appreciate the positive in our lives without also experiencing the negative. We may miss out on love or powerful life lessons if we forget every hardship and loss. This is not to say that we deserve negative things to happen to us; it is more about the purpose we can find within the negative thing or experience. Sometimes, purpose is the only way to get through the day, especially when suffering from anxiety, depression, or trauma. Purpose can give us hope and this is how I approach my therapy practice — with hope. I have hope that we can heal, hope that we can love and cherish our family and friends, and hope that things will get better.