Inspiring Conversations with Erica Webb of ATL Trauma Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Webb.

Hi Erica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
ATL Trauma Therapy grew out of my own lived experience both inside and outside the therapy room. I grew up in a chaotic household and didn’t have the tools or language to make sense of what was happening around me. As an undiagnosed ADHD kid, I internalized a lot of that chaos and assumed it was my fault.

Starting my own therapy as an adult changed my life. Not because it “fixed” me, but because it helped me externalize what never belonged to me in the first place. I learned that healing isn’t about becoming someone else, it’s about learning to love and accept the parts of you that protected you, even when that seemed slightly extreme.

I didn’t follow a traditional path into this work. I dropped out of school, changed my major, and tried to give up many times. I built ATL Trauma Therapy as a space that challenges old ideas about what therapists are supposed to look or be like. I grew up thinking therapists were professional older people with glasses who had their lives perfectly together. I didn’t see myself reflected in that image and for a long time, I assumed that meant I didn’t belong. Building this practice was my way of creating my own space so I didn’t have to adhere to anyone else’s idea of professionalism.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t exactly been smooth, but I’ve certainly had my lucky moments. I’ve had to navigate financial uncertainty, burnout, and the pressure to perform professionalism in ways that didn’t feel authentic. I bartended nights, interned during the days, and went to class in the evenings. I’ve had to unlearn the idea that credibility requires hiding the parts of yourself that are messy or stigmatized.

When building ATL Trauma Therapy, it was really important to me to do things differently especially for clinicians. Provisionally licensed therapists often have limited options, and I’d heard too many stories of exploitation and burnout. I got lucky early in my career, and I wanted to pay that forward by creating something sustainable and fair for the people doing the work as well as the people receiving it.

We’ve been impressed with ATL Trauma Therapy, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I specialize in trauma therapy, my favorite modalities are eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), parts work, and somatic approaches. I work with people who often carry shame about their histories, identities, or coping strategies.

I’m known for being warm, direct, and extremely relational. We are not a “blank slate” practice. I don’t believe therapists are neutral observers with no impact on the room. Our identities and lived experience are present in the therapy room, and when used ethically, thoughtfully, and with strong training, that humanity can be incredibly healing.

Earlier in my life, I was a sex worker and I struggled with substance use. For a long time, I believed those experiences disqualified me from being a “real” therapist. What I’ve realized is the opposite, those chapters taught me about survival, consent, power, and shame in ways textbooks never could.

I’m most proud of creating a practice that actively welcomes stigmatized and gritty parts, both in clients and in clinicians. Trauma, and unique lived experiences can be extremely useful in helping clients feel seen and understood.

What were you like growing up?
I was sensitive, emotionally observant, energetic, and very bossy. People used to tell me, “You’ll make an excellent lawyer one day,” which I now understand was a polite way of calling a child a bitch. I had strong opinions and very little tolerance for things that didn’t make sense to me.

I was also very curious about people, particularly why they acted the way they did, what was happening beneath the surface, and how past experiences shaped their behavior. I felt things deeply and usually didn’t know what to do with that intensity.

Looking back, those traits that I had as a child: leadership, emotional attunement (or hyper-vigilance hehe), intensity, and a refusal to shut up, are exactly what led me into trauma work. I just needed a framework that taught me those qualities weren’t flaws.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atltraumatherapy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atltraumatherapy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/ATL-Trauma-Therapy-61564013996853/

Image Credits
Caleb Probst – Terminus Creative Co.