Jennifer Kenworthy Marriage and Family Therapist Intern

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Beneath perfectionism and people-pleasing lie deeper emotions—often shame, fear of rejection, or grief over never feeling enough. In Emotion-Focused Therapy, we don't just talk about your patterns; we slow down to explore the feelings driving them. You'll learn to identify the primary emotions beneath your critical voice or anxious striving, understand what these feelings are trying to protect you from, and develop compassion for the vulnerable parts of yourself.

Your body knows the truth before your mind catches up—the tension in your shoulders before criticizing, the pit in your stomach when disappointing someone. Somatic therapy helps you tune into these physical signals and understand what they're communicating. Through body scans, breathwork, gentle movement, and grounding exercises, you'll develop the capacity to notice sensations without judgment, track how emotions move through your body, and regulate your nervous system in real-time.

If you're caught in cycles where nothing your partner does feels good enough, where vulnerability feels like weakness, or where you're performing "perfect partner" instead of showing up as yourself—connection becomes impossible. You'll learn to recognize what's happening in your bodies during conflict: defensiveness rising, the urge to criticize, the collapse of people-pleasing. We'll practice slowing down, understanding the emotions beneath your patterns, and turning back toward each other.

When perfectionist standards and high achievement expectations show up in your family, everyone suffers. Through family therapy grounded in mindfulness and somatic awareness, we'll help everyone notice their patterns: the tightness before correcting, the shame of disappointing parents, the anxiety of never measuring up. Together, you'll learn to pause, regulate as a family system, and respond with curiosity instead of criticism, creating space for everyone's true Self to emerge.

When your early experiences taught you that love must be earned through achievement, perfect behavior, or taking care of others' needs, secure attachment can feel unreachable. If you're anxiously seeking reassurance, avoiding closeness to protect yourself, or people-pleasing your way through relationships while losing your sense of self—your nervous system is working overtime. You'll explore how these patterns show show up in your body and relationships, while learning to connect authentically.