About Erma
Erma Wardley is a licensed clinical social worker who helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma. She makes space for honest conversation and supports clients working toward greater self-understanding. Her approachable style is aimed at practical change and steady progress.
Wardley uses straightforward tools to address panic, low self-esteem, and mood struggles. She helps people manage life changes and the long-term effects of abuse or post-traumatic stress. Sessions focus on steps the client can try between meetings to build coping skills.
How Erma works
Her work often explores patterns that keep problems repeating. That includes issues around control, guilt and shame, impulsivity, and isolation. She also offers guidance for people dealing with abandonment wounds, caregiver stress, or difficulties with narcissistic relationships.
Erma draws from several methods to match each person’s needs. She blends client-centered listening with cognitive-behavioral techniques and mindfulness exercises. Dialectical behavior strategies and psychodynamic ideas are used when they fit the client’s goals.
With 22 years of experience as an LCSW in California, she brings steady clinical practice to each session. Wardley aims to help people find clearer perspective, better emotion management, and stronger day-to-day coping. Her approach is collaborative, practical, and grounded in real-life concerns.
Erma lists 7 ways of working on the entry:
What Erma works with
The areas below are the ones Erma selected when setting up a profile. The first few are listed as the main focus; the rest are also named.
Also listed
Training and background
| Register | LCSW |
|---|---|
| Years in practice | 22 |
| Languages | English |
| Session format | Online: video, phone, live chat or messaging |
| Country | California |
Memberships and registers are shown as supplied; they are not licences, and this directory does not verify them.
Online support options
How therapeutic approaches adapt to online care
Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and meeting the person where they are. Online sessions allow the therapist to provide that calm, accepting presence while helping clients name what matters and set goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, helps people spot and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors. In online sessions clients can practice skills, try behavioral experiments between meetings, and track progress together. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, DBT, teaches concrete skills for managing intense emotions and improving relationships. Online DBT work often combines coaching around skills like distress tolerance and emotion regulation with regular check-ins.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each person to choose methods that fit their needs, goals, and preferences. That plan can shift as progress is made, with techniques added or adapted based on what the client finds most useful.
Online therapy offers flexibility through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. Video is useful for longer conversations and exercises that benefit from seeing facial cues. Phone sessions can work when bandwidth is limited or a session must fit a short break. Live chat and text messaging can support quick check-ins, skill practice, or brief problem-solving between longer appointments. These options help people keep continuity of care while fitting therapy into their daily life.
Start online instead of waiting
Our partner service asks a few questions about what you are looking for and matches you with a therapist for sessions from home.
Book with ErmaWe will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you.
Common questions
What concerns does this therapist address?
What is the therapist's general approach in sessions?
How much clinical experience does the therapist have?
What are the therapist's credentials and location?
Which languages are supported for therapy sessions?
Are international clients accepted for online work?
What session formats are offered?
How do fees and scheduling work?
A practical next step
Write down two things you would want to be different in six months. That is the most useful thing to bring to a first session, whoever it is with. If you would rather start now than keep reading, online sessions are the quickest route.
We will earn a commission if you sign up through our link, at no cost to you. Entries are not assessed or endorsed by this directory.
Other entries for stress, anxiety
Supportive LCSW helping people build strength and clarity
Practical, trauma-aware therapy for everyday life
Practical, relational therapy for life transitions