EEC 449: When Doing the Work Isn't Working, with Erin Hedinger

Erin Hedinger is an LCSW with more than a decade of expertise in integrative psychospiritual and humanistic modalities and an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies. She started her practice, EH Therapy LLC, in 2019 and has since curated a holistic approach that combines evidence-based treatment models with the timeless wisdom of ancient myths, rituals, symbols, and storytelling.

You created a Modern Day Hero's Journey- a holistic model for healing and ecstatic living. Can you tell listeners why you think this model is needed at this time and what inspired you to create it? At the heart of your model is a pretty bold claim: that healing and ecstatic living are not two separate journeys but one. Can you unpack that for us? You bring this to life through the metaphor of an inner-world theater. Can you take us on a tour of that inner world and help listeners understand what is actually happening inside them? And walk us through the model's different phases? You write about the Fall as a universal human experience. Why is understanding our own falls so central to this journey, and what role does shame play in keeping us stuck? So what does it actually look like when someone does the work and steps out of survival into what you call ecstatic living? Erin Hedinger Erin Hedinger is an LCSW with more than a decade of expertise in integrative psychospiritual and humanistic modalities and an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies. She started her practice, EH Therapy LLC, in 2019 and has since curated a holistic approach that combines evidence-based treatment models with the timeless wisdom of ancient myths, rituals, symbols, and storytelling.

At the heart of Erin's work is a belief that healing and living fully are not two separate journeys, but one. Her framework guides clients inward, helping them process grief, trauma, and unmet needs, while simultaneously reclaiming the hidden desires and gifts within. The goal, she believes, is not simply to survive or merely exist, but to build the most authentic, ecstatic life possible from the inside out.

Her therapeutic approach is the foundation of her recently completed book, Your Modern-Day Hero's Journey: A Guide to Ecstatic Living, a transformative guide that weaves archetypal storytelling with leading psychological research to help readers heal and thrive.

Beyond her practice, Erin has been a member of the Amherst Writers & Artists since 2012 and became a certified writing group leader in 2016. When not wor