Erika Katz, MA, LMFT, Therapist in Manhattan Beach, California

Erika Katz, LMFT, helps adolescents, teens, and young adults throughout California navigate emotional challenges, strengthen resilience, and build practical skills for lasting mental wellness. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at LifeStance Health, she provides compassionate, evidence-based therapy for individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, and trauma-related concerns. Erika believes that meaningful therapy begins with a trusting relationship where clients feel safe, understood, and empowered to make positive changes in their lives. She supports clients facing academic stress, family conflict, emotional regulation difficulties, and other challenges that can impact daily functioning and overall well-being. Her approach is collaborative and individualized, helping each client identify strengths while developing strategies to overcome obstacles. In addition to her primary areas of expertise, she offers support for a variety of additional mental health concerns. Erika utilizes evidence-based interventions including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients better understand their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. She also incorporates mindfulness practices and family-based approaches when appropriate, recognizing the important role that relationships and support systems play in emotional health. Through individual and family therapy, she helps clients build confidence, improve coping skills, and create meaningful progress toward their goals. Erika is passionate about helping individuals who are struggling with anxiety, depression, and PTSD/trauma. She understands how these concerns can affect relationships, self-esteem, academic performance, and day-to-day functioning. By creating a supportive and nonjudgmental environment, she helps clients process difficult experiences, develop healthier coping mechanisms, and move toward greater emotional balance and healing. She earned her education from Texas Christian University and Santa Clara University. Her clinical style combines empathy, curiosity, and evidence-based care, allowing her to tailor treatment to the unique needs and experiences of each client. Outside of her clinical work, Erika enjoys spending time at the beach, trying new restaurants, attending concerts and live music events, taking cooking and painting classes, traveling, completing puzzles, going to the movies, watching football and other sports, and spending quality time with friends and family.