Erika Cardenas, MBA, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FNP-BC

Founder & CEO

Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC) and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC)

Certified aesthetics injector and weight loss management

Erika Cardenas is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with experience across emergency medicine, urgent care, mental health and pain management. Her clinical background allows her to provide a calm, safe, and precision approach to aesthetic outcomes. She is the founder of BRILLAS Aesthetics & Wellness and Vivir Psychiatry & Wellness. She created her brands focusing on the complete individual- treating mind and body.

Born and raised in Laredo, Texas, Erika is deeply connected to the South Texas community that shaped her. She understands its culture, values, and strong sense of family and brings those foundations into the personalized, welcoming approach behind BRILLAS Aesthetics & Wellness.

Outside of clinical practice, Erika's life centers around family. She enjoys spending time with her husband and five children and helping care for her parents and mother-in-law. Her own approach to wellness includes weightlifting, running, hiking, camping, and spending time outdoors—along with the occasional live concert with lifelong friends.

Erika is a lifelong learner with a natural curiosity for health, science, culture, and design. She enjoys reading biographies, staying informed on current events from a variety of perspectives, and continually reviewing current medical literature to strengthen her evidence-informed approach to patient care.

She also has an appreciation for thoughtful design, from architecture and beautiful clinical spaces to the craftsmanship and enduring legacy of global fashion houses. That appreciation for quality, detail, and individuality is reflected in the environment and philosophy she envisioned for BRILLAS.

For Erika, wellness isn't about chasing perfection. It's about taking care of yourself with intention, feeling confident in your own skin, and making choices that support the life you want to live.

Her life and practice are grounded in family, discipline, confidence, and continuous growth.

Erika created BRILLAS as an extension of her vision for whole-person wellness. While Vivir focuses on compassionate psychiatric care, BRILLAS offers medical aesthetics, weight management, and wellness services—all grounded and backed by scientific evidence that mental health, physical well-being, and confidence are connected. (Zamani Sani SH, Fathirezaie Z, Brand S, et al. Physical activity and self-esteem: testing direct and indirect relationships associated with psychological and physical mechanisms. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2016;12:2617-2625. Published 2016 Oct 12. doi:10.2147/NDT.S116811)

Through both practices, her intention is to help people feel supported, healthy, and empowered—mind and body.

Helping people live fully- mind and body.

Learn more about Vivir Psychiatry & Wellness at vivirpsychiatry.com.

My Approach to Aesthetics & Wellness

Erika believes in many of the same wellness and aesthetic treatments she discusses with her patients. Her own wellness journey has included medically guided weight-management treatment, strength training, running, yoga, meditation and intentional nutrition, along with a conservative approach to aesthetic treatments such as neuromodulators and lip enhancement.

Her philosophy is simple: aesthetic care should never be about becoming someone else. It should be individualized, thoughtful, and focused on helping you feel confident while still looking like yourself.

That philosophy is at the heart of BRILLAS—quererte un poquito más.

Professional Standards

Care is provided in accordance with Texas regulations, scope-of-practice requirements, and collaborative practice standards.