Meet Erica

Erica Bilderbeck, MA, MSC Trained Teacher

Erica Bilderbeck has taught mindfulness practices for more than a decade.  She began by incorporating simple mindfulness techniques into her work as a mental health therapist in a variety of clinical settings throughout Greater Los Angeles.  Erica now operates The Compassionate Path, a wellness consulting practice that helps people manage stressors through thoughtful action instead of unskillful criticism.  Erica earned her MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and her BA in Urban Studies from Stanford University.

Erica is passionate about working with people who care for others. This became especially salient for her when she became the primary carer for both her infant daughter and terminally ill mother.  Those difficult years highlighted the important role that compassion plays in overall well being.  Whether we provide care professionally or within a personal sphere, Erica believes compassion is key to doing so in a sustainable way.  In fact, she has yet to find a challenge to which compassion, wisely applied, does not provide notable relief.  A determination to share that knowledge with others prompted the founding of The Compassionate Path in 2017.

Through her work at The Compassionate Path, Erica helps people apply compassionate action to a wide range of human experiences, including grieving, parenting, performance anxiety, and empathy fatigue.  Erica has led mindfulness and self-compassion experiences in a variety of workplace and educational settings for healthcare professionals, high school students, and faculty and staff from preschool to university levels.  Erica is also in the early stages of developing guidelines for incorporating self-compassion into youth sport coaching.

Erica completed her MSC teacher training with one of the co-founders of Mindful Self-Compassion, Chris Germer, PhD.  As a fully trained teacher, Erica offers both the empirically-supported 8-week MSC course and drop-in groups for course graduates who seek on-going support.  Erica's most recent 8-week course was a part of a campus-wide mindfulness initiative, Mindful CSUSM at California State University San Marcos.

In addition to her ever-evolving practice of mindfulness and self-compassion, Erica is always on the hunt for self-care opportunities. She is fond of ceramics, group fitness, brunching with family and friends, and watching her favorite TV shows over and over again.