Developmental Attachment Wounds

On one hand, you yearn for connection, and on the other, connection feels uncomfortable.

When connection feels threatening you protect yourself. It feels scary to open up to others because you fear rejection or humiliation. Maintaining distance helps you feel in control.

When connection feels unavailable you overextend yourself. You look for signs that something is wrong or you feel the need to prove your worth by putting others' needs before your own. The unknown feels scary, you fear punishment or abandonment. You feel out of control.

Trauma

Perhaps you have experienced a situation that threatened your sense of safety and now you are on the lookout for danger. You feel on edge, you cannot rest, and you cannot concentrate. Intrusive thoughts spark anger, fear, and sadness, and suddenly you don’t feel like yourself anymore.

You may wonder what you could have done differently, or why this happened to you. You might find that you don’t trust yourself or others, making the world feel like a dangerous place.

Change

Change can feel unsettling for many different reasons—whether it’s the passage of time, the end of a relationship, illness, unemployment, retirement, or death. These life events can easily leave you feeling overwhelmed, without a compass, and questioning your decisions or sense of self.

Pain and Suffering

These experiences can be isolating and painful. Fear and self-doubt become inescapable. What happens next are often actions that lead to suffering. 

• Addiction

• Avoidance

• Anger outbursts

• Impulsive behavior

• Rigid behavior

• People pleasing

• Dissociation

• Disconnection

Developmental attachment wounds, traumatic events, and change, can create an array of internal and external experiences that shape how we show up for ourselves, our families, our relationships, and the world.

There is hope

I invite you to take a mind-body approach to integrate these unhealed experiences to create space for what matters to you. 

As a trauma-informed psychotherapist, I use mindfulness, somatic, and attachment-based strategies designed to help you get beyond just coping. My goal is to help you build lasting resilience and an internal sense of safety and inner trust. 

Together, we can embark on a journey to heal and reclaim your authentic self.