“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.
-Yogi Berra
My Practice
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Education
I received my B.A. in English from Mississippi University for Women.
I then received a M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Kentucky.
I left my dissertation in Philosophy and completed my M.Ed. and Ed.S. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky.
In the last 10 years, I have completed over 325 hours of continuing education, including over 25 hours of trauma-related, 42 hours of Autism-affirming, and 50 hours of ADHD-affirming trainings.
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Licenses and Certifications
I am a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with Supervision credentials in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
I have been a Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP, 2020-2023) and a Certified Clinical Telemental Health Provider (CTMH, 2020-2022).
I am currently an ADHD-Certified Clinical Services Provider (ADHD-CCSP) and a Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist (ASDCS).
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Focus
I work with individuals on both short- and long-term goals and mental health issues ranging from depression and anxiety to stress and trauma.
Outside of strictly mental health issues, I also work with individuals dealing with problems in living, grief, work issues, relationship difficulties, and similar personal and interpersonal problems.
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Populations
I provide counseling and therapy services to residents of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
While I do specialize in working with neurodivergent clients, I also enjoy working with neurotypical individuals as well.
I provide neurodivergent-, LGBTQ+, ENM-, and kink-affirming services.
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Psychoeducation
I believe that psychoeducation is vital for achieving wellbeing
While my clients are always experts on themselves, I’ve found that most people find it validating to find out that they are not alone in their experiences.
Psychoeducation also serves the important function of undermining stigma and misinformation.
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Therapies
Since most traditional adult therapies and counseling techniques are not neurodivergent-affirming, any therapies or counseling techniques I use are modified to accommodate each client’s unique needs, strengths, and goals.
I am trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Positive Psychology, and Cognitive Processing Therapy.
A little bit about me
Hi! My name is Erin Murphy.
I became a therapist later in life, after pursuing my first passion - philosophy.
I got hooked on existentialism in high school. Existentialism is a type of philosophy that focuses on the meaning of life. Finding a philosophy program in college wasn’t easy, so I decided to get my bachelor’s degree in English from Mississippi University for Women.
I then enrolled in graduate school at the University of Kentucky intent on studying existentialism. I was convinced that learning philosophy and then teaching philosophy was the best way to help people understand themselves and live their best lives.
While I’ve always kept that goal in mind, I ended up shifting focus from existentialism to epistemology (the study of knowledge). Meanwhile, I taught classes at UK and Bluegrass Community and Technical College, including Existentialism; Asian Philosophy; Human Nature; Ethics; Logic; and Death, Dying and Quality of Life.
I was teaching Death, Dying and Quality of Life while working on my dissertation. Teaching that course several times helped me realize that achieving my goal of helping people was better done outside of teaching university courses.
So, I took psychology classes and applied for the Master of Education program in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. After completing my Master and Specialist degrees I started working as therapist. During that time, I was also beginning my journey as a psychotherapy client.
It was not until after I had been working as a therapist for a few years that I recognized my neurodivergence, and it took me a few more years to realize that I’m not the only adult (especially AFAB) that was misdiagnosed.
My practice does not focus on treating neurodivergence (because it’s not a pathology). Instead, I work to provide mental health care for all neurotypes (but especially the neurodivergent ones) that is sensitive to their particular needs, strengths, and goals while increasing awareness of the negative impacts of stigma and avoiding being oneself.
