Feel safe and connected

Therapy for Relational & Attachment Trauma in Northern Virginia

For the ones who long for closeness but feel stuck in patterns of fear, avoidance, or overgiving.

Close-up of off-white fabric with a smooth texture and slight folds.

You want connection but it’s complicated.

Relationships feel like a minefield. Too close is scary, too distant feels lonely.

You’ve probably been told you’re either too distant or too needy. But the truth is, you’ve just learned to survive in relationships that didn’t feel emotionally safe.

Maybe part of you longs for closeness, while another part feels panicked when someone gets too close. Maybe you crave reassurance and fear being left but feel ashamed for needing so much. Or maybe you’ve gotten so used to being self-reliant that asking for anything feels impossible.

You might find yourself…

  • Pulling away when intimacy feels overwhelming even when you care deeply.

  • Becoming hyper-aware of your partner’s mood, always bracing for something to go wrong.

  • Wanting connection but fearing you’ll lose yourself in it.

  • Struggling to express your needs without guilt, shame, or second-guessing.

  • Feeling anxious, shut down, or unsure how to feel close without getting hurt.

If you’ve learned to protect yourself by keeping your guard up or by staying on high alert you’re not alone. These patterns were built for survival, not shame.

And they can be softened. In therapy, we’ll explore what shaped your relationship patterns and help you move toward connection that feels safer, more mutual, and true to you.

Sound like you?

You bounce between independence and over-functioning, unsure how to just be with someone.

You’ve learned not to rely on anyone and now it’s hard to let anyone in.

You keep people at a distance, even when you’re longing for connection.

You feel anxious when someone doesn’t text back… and ashamed for caring so much.

You constantly second-guess your partner’s feelings, even when they say everything is fine.

I’m here to help with…

  • Relationship Conflict

  • Codependency

  • Emotion Regulation

  • Childhood Trauma

  • Fear of Intimacy

  • Emotional Numbness

  • Anxious Attachment

  • Avoidant Attachment

  • Relationship Insecurity

  • Emotional Neglect

  • Boundary Struggles

  • Low Self-worth

Here’s what we’ll do together

Therapy can help you feel safe in your body, in your relationships, and in your sense of self.

  • Explore the roots of your attachment patterns and how early relationships shaped the way you show up today.

  • Understand your triggers why you might shut down, panic, or over-function in connection.

  • Reconnect with your emotions and needs without shame, so they feel less overwhelming or confusing.

  • Build internal safety so you can stay grounded, even when intimacy feels vulnerable.

  • Practice setting boundaries and expressing yourself in ways that feel authentic not avoidant, anxious, or performative.

  • Move toward secure attachment by learning what safe, mutual connection feels like in your nervous system, not just your thoughts.

At the end of the day, I want you to know:

You are not too much, too needy, or unloveable. You are important and enough.

What we’ll work on

Imagine a life where…

  • You don’t constantly second-guess your worth in relationships or feel like you’re too much or not enough.

  • You feel calm when someone needs space… and secure when you need closeness.

  • You can ask for reassurance without spiraling in shame or take space without feeling like you’re pushing love away.

  • You don’t lose yourself trying to keep the peace, fix everything, or stay “easy” to love.

  • You feel safe being fully seen, fully human, and fully yourself with people who meet you there.

You Deserve Safe, Loving Connection

You Deserve to Feel Like You in Relationships

Questions?

FAQs

  • Relational trauma occurs when your earliest relationships, often in childhood, felt unpredictable, unsafe, or emotionally distant. You might have:

    • Grown up with a caregiver who was emotionally unavailable or inconsistent

    • Been made to feel responsible for others’ emotions or behaviors

    • Learned to silence your own needs to keep the peace

    • Experienced conditional love, emotional neglect, or enmeshment

    These experiences shape your nervous system, your self-worth, and how you relate to intimacy, trust, and love as an adult.

  • This is different for everyone and can vary based on many factors including:

    • Readiness and motivation for change

    • Overlapping areas that contribute to the concern

    • How long you want to be in therapy for

  • Reach out and we will schedule a 15-minute free consult to determine if we are a good fit.