Therapy for high-achieving adults struggling with emotional disconnection, anxiety, shame, and people-pleasing
Virtual sessions in Michigan and Ohio
Do you ever feel like you’re living two lives? On the outside you have a successful career, a beautiful home, a relationship, a family. It looks like you’ve got it made. People envy you. But inside? It’s different there.
Inside, you struggle. Maybe you stuff your feelings down to keep the peace, then explode when you just can’t keep it in for another second. Maybe you aren’t so sure anymore that you want the things you’ve built…then you feel guilty for even thinking that way. Maybe everyone at work admires your ambition, but they don’t see you later, obsessing over whether you screwed up. Or sometimes you have a few too many cocktails or glasses of wine to get out of your own head. Or are secretly attracted to somebody who isn’t your partner. Somehow, what’s inside you is out of alignment with what everyone else sees.
Maybe you’ve been to therapy before—but you know there’s still something deeper that needs to be healed.
You’re in the right place.
I am so glad you’re here. Let’s start this work together.
I’m a trauma therapist — but more importantly, I’m someone who has been through emotional hell and back.
I identify with the feeling of living two lives that didn’t fit together. Years ago I built a life that looked good on the outside. Others often saw me as someone who had it all together. But when I was alone with my thoughts, it didn’t feel that way. There was an emptiness I couldn’t name, a heaviness I tried to numb or outrun, an inner critic that was never satisfied. Nothing I tried gave me relief.
Until I broke down.
Which, oddly enough, led directly to the breakthrough I had needed all along: trauma therapy.
It saved my life. Literally. And it gave me back something I hadn’t been able to find on my own: me.
Now? I help adults like you stop the cycle of pushing aside your feelings because they are inconvenient, hiding parts of yourself to be who others want you to be, striving for perfection to prove your worth — so you can reclaim a life that feels fully, authentically yours.
I’ve been there. I’m no different from you. I did it. You can too.
You may recognize yourself here:
You long for authentic connection but find yourself stuck in painful relationship patterns.
You avoid experiencing your emotions and often feel anxious, depressed, or angry.
You’re unsure of what you truly feel or want.
You struggle with perfectionism, people-pleasing, or overthinking.
You avoid conflict, doubt your perceptions, and second-guess yourself.
You feel more comfortable when everyone else is happy—even if it means silencing yourself.
...and you're tired of pretending you're fine.
The good news is that you don’t have to keep living this way.
Why you feel this way (the root cause):
You are not flawed or weak. Even though these patterns are painful, they are not your fault. You developed them long ago as a survival strategy. As a child, you didn’t receive the emotional nurturing you needed. Your feelings were ignored, dismissed, or punished. You learned that showing your inner world wasn’t safe — that your emotions were wrong, inconvenient, or too much. So you hid them, disconnected from them, and shaped yourself around others’ needs.
These strategies helped you feel a measure of control and safety. But now, they leave you feeling disconnected from yourself. You may feel anxious, depressed, or ashamed. Relationships may feel confusing or fragile — you want closeness but struggle to trust your own perceptions, needs, or boundaries. You might stay quiet when something bothers you, second-guess your interactions, or feel safest when everyone else is happy. Sometimes you throw yourself into perfectionism, people-pleasing, or work. Other times, you shut down, isolate, or escape into distractions.
Healing is Possible
It is absolutely possible to stop feeling this way — to stop avoiding your feelings, performing, reacting in anger, numbing out, second-guessing, or keeping the peace.
In our sessions you can begin to safely explore your emotions, understand the roots of your patterns, and release the shame you’ve been carrying.
You’ll build the capacity to:
01
Trust your feelings as valid and important
You learned early that showing your emotions was unsafe — that your inner truth was wrong, shameful, or too much. With support, you can begin to reconnect with your emotions and discover that they aren’t dangerous or shameful — they are messengers, guiding you back to who you really are. As you do this work, you can begin to trust your feelings, needs, and voice.
02
Know what you want, need, and value
Survival often meant scanning others for cues of how to act, feel, or think. As we connect the dots between the past and the present, you will recover the ability to tune into and trust yourself. Healing involves asking, “What do I want? What do I feel? What matters to me?” — separate from others’ approval or expectations. At first, this may feel foreign, but it gradually builds self-trust.
03
Set healthy boundaries without guilt
Boundaries are essential for protecting authenticity. Saying “No” or “This is what I need” retrains the nervous system that self-expression does not equal danger. Speaking your truth, even in small ways, builds confidence and reinforces identity. You begin to notice that you can have your own truth without losing connection with others.
04
Create deeper, more authentic relationships
Real connection is rooted in truth and self-awareness. Old survival patterns (fight, flight, fawn, freeze) often drive conflict or avoidance. Healing helps you notice your triggers and choose responses that reflect your values, not fear. This builds trust, reduces misunderstandings, and fosters intimacy. Authentic self-expression allows others to see the real you—and when you let yourself be seen, it gives others permission to be real too, creating a relationship based on honesty rather than pretense.
05
Feel at home within yourself, not just in the image you present to others
You have to feel safe with yourself to feel comfortable in your own skin. As you approach your inner world with kindness and curiosity, you replace self-criticism and shame with care and understanding. This creates a stable inner environment where you can rest, reflect, and grow. The more you know, accept, and honor yourself, the less you need to rely on appearances, approval, or perfection. You can finally feel grounded and secure, living from your authentic self rather than a curated image.
I’m accepting new clients.
Are you ready to step into freedom from old survival patterns to live as your full, authentic self?
If you said yes, if you are ready and willing to do the work, here is what the future holds (and it has me super excited for you!):
A profound sense of home inside of you — ease and inner security — deep alignment — consistency — clarity —groundedness — honesty — peace. Not just in the image you present to others, but with yourself.
It would be a joy to guide you down the path I’ve walked already. Join me here. Healing is possible, and it is more joyful than you can possibly imagine.