Erica’s Favorite Quotes:

  • “Trust the journey.”

  • “What the mind suppresses, the body expresses.”

  • “Trauma comes back as a reaction, not a memory.” Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

  • “Through the lens of the polyvagal theory, almost every diagnosis in the DSM is a dysregulated nervous system.” Deb Dana, LCSW

Erica Cuni

LMFT, CIMPH

(she/her)

Accepts Self-Pay & BCBS

Virtual and In-person (Raleigh Office)

Hi! I’m Erica Cuni, LMFT, CIMHP,  also known as, “The Burnout Professor.” Over the past 17 years, I've held several roles: Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor, Clinical Director, Adjunct Lecturer, Clinical Professor and fellow survivor. I’ve worked with a Medical Detox and Mental Health Assessment Facility, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Public School System (k-12), the Juvenile Justice System, Children Psychiatric Outpatient Clinics, the Department of Corrections, and I owned a Private Practice.

If you’re experiencing chronic stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, codependency, perfectionism, or trauma, you’re probably noticing that you may get stuck in a state of protection. Meaning, you aren’t able to stay fully present in the moment and when you do think about what’s going on, you can’t seem to imagine a different outcome other than a bad one. The hallmark of mental health is to know how to express and process emotions in the present moment without shutting down, distracting, or disassociating (a.k.a. doomsday scrolling, overdoing, excessive shopping, overgiving, working too much, stress eating, drinking, overthinking, micromanaging, and people-pleasing to name a few).

My approach is nervous system-based, trauma-informed, and integrative. I consider genetics, culture, gender, lifestyle habits, sleep hygiene, diet, trauma history, relationships, community/work, spiritual roots, and mindset. I think therapy is much like the Chinese Proverb about fishing:  “Give a man a fish, and he’ll be good for a day. Teach a man to fish; he’ll be set for life.”

Sometimes, you may need a safe space for unconditional support. Other times, you need help with emotional processing, education, accountability, and gaining a new perspective. I firmly believe that “Everything is figureoutable” (as wonderfully stated by Maria Forleo). This belief isn’t about controlling the outcome; instead, it’s about dealing with uncertainty healthily.

If you are looking for someone who’s done her own work and is a spitfire, direct, and compassionate therapist, look no further. You’ve found her.

To learn more about me, please visit www.theburnoutprofessor.com or follow me on social media: Instagram, FaceBook, and LinkedIn @theburnoutprofessor.

 
 

My Education, Training & Certifications:

  • B.A. in Communications & Business Admin. from CCSU (4 years)

  • M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy from CCSU (62-credits, 3 years, 4.0 GPA)

  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2014

  • Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional (CIMHP) - 32 CEU's with annual renewal

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level 1 Certificate (1 year, 114 CEUs)

  • Trauma Research Foundation's Traumatic Stress Studies Certificate - includes courses in Neurobiology of Trauma (7 months, 71.5 CEUs)

  • Certified Reiki Level 1 & 2 and Reiki Master (2015, 2016 and 2017)

  • Enhance Your Intuition Certificate (6 months)

Additional extensive post-graduate training sessions:

  • Polyvagal Theory from Dr. Stephen Porges & Deb Dana, LCSW

  • Somatic Experiencing with Dr. Peter Levine

  • Understanding the Gut Brain: Stress, Appetite, Digestion, and Mood

  • Neuroscience & Yoga in the treatment for Complex, Developmental and Repeated Trauma

  • Tapping/Emotional Freedom Technique

  • Racial Trauma and Identity (A Focused DBT Perspective) with Eboni Webb, PsyD, HSP

  • The Roles Intersectionality & Cultural Humility Play When Working with Diverse Client Populations with Gary Bailey, MSW, ACSW

Plus, I've been trained in several evidence-based models of psychotherapy:

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

  • Forensic Cognitive Behavioral therapy (F-CBT)

  • Risking Connections

  • Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT)