You can know why you react — and still feel caught in it.

Maybe you replay conversations long after they’re over, wondering if you said the wrong thing. You can sense when someone else is upset before they say a word, but it takes you longer to notice when you’re reaching your own limit. Or maybe anxiety shows up as a tight chest or a restless feeling you can’t quite explain, even on days when everything seems fine.

We’ll look at what happens in those moments and what you do to get through them. Maybe you overexplain a decision, take on more than you have room for, or go quiet when you have something important to say. I’ll help you notice those patterns with curiosity, and I’ll be direct when I hear you taking responsibility for something that belongs to someone else. We can practice what you actually want to say, whether that’s asking for help, setting a boundary, or telling someone they hurt you.

I also bring somatic tools into sessions so you can find out what helps your body when stress takes over. We might practice grounding through your feet before a hard conversation, using gentle movement when you feel restless, or noticing the first signs you\u2019re starting to shut down so you can give yourself a moment. If you want to go deeper, we can explore how childhood experiences or trauma shaped some of these responses, at a pace we decide together.

You start out talking about a text, the dishes, or who’s picking up the kids. A few minutes later, one of you is pushing to be heard and the other is going quiet. Somehow, you’re back in the same fight.

When that pattern shows up in session, I’ll step in and help you slow it down. I might ask, “What did you hear your partner say just now?” Then we’ll try that moment again. I teach active listening and coach you through it as you talk. You’ll practice saying what hurt and what you need without blame, reflecting back what you heard before responding, and coming back to the conversation after it goes sideways.

I draw on Emotionally Focused Therapy, Gottman-informed methods, and trauma-informed somatic practice. Whether you’re hoping to reconnect or figuring out what comes next, we’ll work with the conversations you’re already having and give you something concrete to try at home.

It’s hard to know how to help when you can tell something’s weighing on your teen, but they don’t want to talk about it. Maybe they’ve been spending more time alone, seem more irritable, or have lost interest in things they used to enjoy. Or maybe you hear how hard they are on themselves when a grade comes back or things get rocky with a friend.

My work with adolescents in schools has taught me how much pacing matters. I give your teen time to get comfortable with me. That might mean spending the first few conversations getting to know what they care about and letting them choose where we start. As we build trust, we can practice tools for the moments they find hardest, like grounding before a test, easing up on harsh self-talk, or finding the words to ask for space at home.

Early on, I’ll talk with both of you about privacy and its limits, how we’ll check in, and what support at home might look like.