Erika Lawrence, Ph.D.

Dr. Erika Lawrence is a licensed clinical psychologist who has been working with couples and individuals for 30 years. She is also the Director of Translational Science at The Family Institute at Northwestern University, and a Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at NU. She received her BA in Psychology at Emory University and her PhD in clinical psychology at UCLA. Dr. Lawrence also completed her clinical psychology internship at The Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. Her past academic positions include tenure-track and tenured professorships at the University of Iowa and the University of Arizona, prior to joining The Family Institute. Her intervention research has been funded by the DOJ, NIMH, NICHD and the CDC.

Dr. Lawrence has three areas of specialty in her clinical work. First, she has been a couple therapist for 30 years. Although she chooses the approach to couple therapy that is best for each couple, she often uses Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), an empirically supported approach that includes elements of Emotional Focused Therapy and of Behavioral Couple Therapy while tailoring the therapy to the specific needs of each couple. She was fortunate enough to be trained by one of the developers of IBCT, Dr. Andrew Christensen.

Second, Dr. Lawrence specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders including Specific and Social Phobias, OCD, and GAD. She was trained by one of the developers of CBT for Anxiety Disorders, Dr. Michele Craske. She has decades of experience treating adolescents and adults with anxiety disorders in outpatient, inpatient, and partial hospitalization settings.

Third, Dr. Lawrence specializes in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for anger and aggression, as well as other presenting concerns. ACT incorporates mindfulness, an attention to one’s values, and increasing tolerance for feelings and thoughts in service of having a more rewarding life and making more workable choices in our life. Dr. Lawrence is well known for co-developing an ACTD-based intervention for anger and aggression that has a wealth of evidence supporting its effectiveness.