PHOTO BY KATE GLICKSBERG

PHOTO BY KATE GLICKSBERG

ERICA SAVA, LCSW

Erica Sava, LCSW, received her graduate degree from Columbia University of Social Work, where she completed the Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) training program and lab under Andre Ivanoff, Ph.D. She is currently practicing as an individual DBT therapist, DBT skills coach, and member of the weekly DBT consultation team. Erica has expertise in implementing DBT for children (DBT-C). In addition to working with children, Erica also uses SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) to help parents identify and change their behaviors to improve their child’s anxiety-related symptoms. She utilizes her DBT parent management training to effectively facilitate the changes parents would like to see at home. Erica enjoys practicing DBT because it is skills focused, evidence-based, and allows therapists to be their genuine selves while helping people reach their ‘life worth living’ goals.

Erica has also studied Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ExRP) to treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other phobias. She has also been trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure Protocol (DBT-PE), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) to reduce symptoms of trauma in both children and adults. Erica is passionate about helping people confront their fears and work through traumatic experiences in order to fully participate in their lives. Additionally, she has received training in Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT) to help individuals with disorders of over-control and training in CBT for chronic insomnia. She is eager to continue learning and implementing these treatments with clients at BHBA.  

Erica has previous experience as a social work intern at Public School 85/Great Expectations and Seamen’s Society for Children and Families. She also worked as a psychiatric technician at Cayuga Medical Center’s adult and adolescent mental health units, where she led coping skills groups for patients. Erica also worked as a respite worker at The Mental Health Association in Ithaca, NY, where she worked individually with children with mental health disorders or developmental disabilities. Prior to this, Erica received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology with minors in Counseling and Women & Gender Studies from Ithaca College. 

When Erica is not practicing DBT, she enjoys dancing, cooking family recipes, and going on walks with her dog, Wally, through Central Park.