During her long career in mental health Erica has worked in various settings including secure forensic settings, psychiatric intensive care units, personality disorder services and private practice in the community. She completed her PhD in 2010 followed by a post-doctorate.
Over the past five years Erica has been a lead consultant clinical psychologist for a specialist mental health and personality disorder service and head of the psychology department providing leadership to a team of qualified and assistant psychologists.
Her research interests include compassion focused staff support, therapeutic outcomes and resilience. She has presented her research at national and international conferences and published various articles and books.
In her spare time Erica likes to spend time appreciating nature, travelling with her husband and enjoying her passion for Big Band Jazz.
“I am excited to take the next step in my career leading our psychologists in various settings. Our service users are at the heart of all we do, and our focus is to empower them on their therapeutic journey.”Dr Erica de Lange
Dr Jon Van Niekerk, Interim Group Clinical Director, said, “I am delighted have appointed Dr Erica de Lange as our new Psychology Director for the South. Erica joins Cygnet from St Andrews, where she spent nearly six years in various senior roles, including Lead Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Lead of the Psychology team for Essex. Erica brings a wealth of experience on how to utilise DBT informed practice within Acute and PICU settings, and has several publications related to this area. The knowledge and experience she brings will add considerable strength to the clinical directorate in the South.”