Rate Eric DiIlio

Experience:

After getting my undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University in Environmental Education, I worked for several outdoor centers in New England and the Pacific Northwest. I was an instructor of biology lessons, director of high ropes courses, and facilitator of adventure outings and team-building activities.

In these jobs, I noticed profound impacts on the participants. I noticed something very transformative for people due to their outdoor experiences.

I saw connection, learning, clarity, serenity, reinvigoration, healing, and thriving. I was drawn to these therapeutic aspects of one’s relationships and interactions with nature. And I started out on the path to bring nature’s healing into a counseling practice.

I have helped clients face a wide variety of mental health challenges since my private practice launched in 2011. Since then I have also been involved in additional settings and positions from community outpatient clinics to an ecotherapy & equine therapy center to telehealth therapy delivery. Clients have found my approaches gained from these experiences to be effective, productive, and retainable.

Approach:

I work from a basis of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with inclusion of elements of ecotherapy.

CBT is a best-practice highly effective contemporary “talk therapy” where there is an effort to find beneficial ways of thinking (cognition) and taking action (behavior) to contend with mental health distress.

Ecotherapy works to access the healing, balancing, and restorative benefits from experiences in nature.

How I can help:

I tune into what clients need and want regarding addressing distress and causes of distress. We build an approach and plan to take action on issues and causes of struggles. There is also simultaneous attention to what is needed and effective in terms of coping strategies. I strive to achieve continuity between sessions and ensure there is substance found in each session to help keep clients moving toward goals, resolution, and healing. I am an engaged therapist who joins with clients to brainstorm, process, plan, follow through, and stay on track toward therapeutic objectives.

About myself:

I am a small business owner, nature-lover, musician, dog owner, father, & husband. I grew up in Lancaster, PA and then found adventure and employment in New England and the Pacific Northwest. I lived in Portland, OR for 18 years before moving back to Lancaster to reset roots and spend time with family.

Education: I received my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon with a focus on Ecopsychology and Wilderness Therapy.