Trauma Therapy That Helps You Reconnect with Your Emotions, Your Voice, and Your True Self
Virtual sessions in Michigan and Ohio
Do You:
excel at work and have a life and image that project “I have it all together," but suffer in private?
need others’ approval or validation to feel good about yourself?
either explode or shut down during conflict?
struggle with self-criticism and feel guilty about your wants and needs?
try to be perfect, constantly need to be productive, or spiral into overthinking?
push aside your own feelings and needs to keep the peace?
If this resonates with you, I can help!
I provide a compassionate, nonjudgmental space where all of your experiences are welcome. Together, we’ll uncover the survival strategies that once protected you but now limit you. We’ll work at a pace that feels safe, helping you reconnect with your emotions, your voice, and your true self.
“But my childhood wasn’t that bad”
It’s important to know that you don’t have to view your childhood or parents as bad. Even if you understand why they did what they did, and believe they did their best — it’s powerful to let yourself acknowledge that there were things you needed that you didn’t get.
On the outside, you may look like you have it all together — successful, capable, and dependable. But inside, it can feel very different: anxious, disconnected, or weighed down by shame and self-doubt. These patterns often begin in childhood when your feelings weren’t welcomed or nurtured, leading you to hide your emotions and become who others wanted you to be. Children need healthy emotional nurturing to build self-esteem and inner security. If this was lacking in your home, you are carrying wounds that are still affecting you.
You developed beliefs and patterns that once helped you survive but now leave you feeling stuck, unsure of yourself, or longing for deeper connection.
When we think of trauma, it’s usually big events that come to mind: combat, violent assault, horrific abuse. However, “little-t” traumas — like not getting all the nurturing we needed to thrive — can impact us deeply, too. Adverse childhood experiences like having a parent with mental health or substance abuse problems, being mistreated verbally, or feeling like your emotions weren’t welcome can cause complex trauma.
This is trauma too.
Recognize yourself? I can help you heal.
MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Hi, I’m Barb.
You need more than a place to vent! I am not your typical “smile and nod” kind of therapist. I’m real, and I’m direct. I’ll hold space for your pain and vulnerability — and challenge you when you need it. Not because I’m tough, but because I believe in your ability to heal.
And I know what it’s like to feel stuck.
In childhood I learned to survive by staying small, performing for my worth, and not trusting myself. Eventually those strategies stopped working…and a painful divorce led me to intensive trauma therapy. For the first time, I felt like myself. Not broken. Not too much. Just…me.
Now, I work with adults who avoid, numb, or suppress their emotions — are stuck in cycles of perfectionism, people-pleasing, or self-criticism — or long for authentic connection but struggle to find it.
I won’t pretend healing is easy — but I’ll walk with you through it.
If I could step into a new way of living, so can you. I’ll lead the way.
