Erica Downs-Karai, PsyD, is a psychologist at Ohana, a center for child and adolescent behavioral health at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She grew up in Iowa, spent 15 years in New York City, and settled into life by the ocean with her partner and precocious twins. She holds a PsyD in School-Clinical Child Psychology from Yeshiva University in the Bronx, NY, and has worked in child and adolescent behavioral health since 2009. While based in NYC, her clinical work focused on children and families dealing with traumas, such as domestic violence, abuse, and attachment difficulties. Following a move to the west coast, her clinical focus has shifted towards anxiety disorders, mindfulness, and parenting work. Dr. Downs-Karai helped launch Ohana’s S.P.A.C.E. (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) Program, Mindfulness for Anxiety groups, and looks forward to helping to expand the parenting program. On weekends, you can find her having spontaneous dance parties in the living room with her family, doing Pilates, or baking a batch of M&M pudding cookies. Her next goal is to master homemade pasta.
