BOOK ERICA HORNTHAL
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Erica Hornthal
Specialties: movement, dance, mental health, anxiety, depression, trauma, nervous system regulation
Home base: Chicago, IL
Website: ericahornthal.com
Facebook: facebook.com/EricaHornthal
Instagram: @the.therapist.who.moves.you
LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/in/erica-hornthal-lcpc-bc-dmt-4a611735/
Erica Hornthal is a licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist. She is an expert on the intersection of movement and mental health. She is a pioneer in the field of dance/movement therapy and it was her own journey on using dance for healing that led her to combine her passion for helping people with her love for dance. Erica received 
her MA in dance/movement therapy and counseling from Columbia College Chicago in 2008. She then completed her post-graduate training working in an adult day program where she led movement-based support groups and individual therapy session with people diagnosed with cognitive impairments such as dementia and traumatic brain injury.
Erica Hornthal’s award-winning book, Body Aware: Rediscover Your Mind-Body Connection, Stop Feeling Stuck, and Improve Your Mental Health with Simple Movement Practices (North Atlantic Books, 2022), introduces readers to a groundbreaking narrative that the way
we move influences who we are and that in order to change harmful thought patterns and unhealthy behaviors, we must change the way we move.
Her most recent release, The Movement Therapy Deck: 52 Mindful Movement Exercises to Regulate Your Nervous System and Process Trauma (North Atlantic Books, 2024), is an at-home tool designed to support regulation of the nervous system and processing of trauma. Accessible for all ages, this 52-card deck teaches people to create secure attachments to their bodies in order to create a sense of safety in the everyday experience. Her forthcoming book, BodyTalk (Balance, 2025), provides daily practices that allow readers to reestablish connection to their bodies in order to support mental health and emotional well-being.
Erica is currently the CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy, the Midwest’s premier somatic psychotherapy practice. She has contributed research and publications on topics related to mental health, dance and somatic psychotherapy, and she frequently presents her work at conferences and university symposia. Her work has been recognized internationally and by media outlets including NBC News, CBS Chicago, The New York Times, PARADE, Reader’s Digest and Dance Magazine. A sought-after speaker and therapist. She has been applauded by her colleagues and the public for her ability to explain complex mind-body principles and movement science to a lay audience. Erica is regularly asked to speak to special-interest groups, industry groups and schools. She has appeared on many TV news programs,radio programs and podcasts.
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