Our closest relationships can bring us tremendous comfort, connection, and belonging. They can also activate some of our deepest wounds. If you find yourself having emotional reactions in a romantic relationship that feel bigger than the situation at hand—or repeatedly falling into patterns of anxiety, withdrawal, defensiveness, or fear—past relational trauma may be influencing what is happening in the present. Trauma-focused relational therapy explores the intersection betwe

When I first learned about Internal Family Systems (IFS), something about it immediately resonated with me. Internal Family Systems is based on the idea that the human psyche naturally organizes itself into different parts. These parts develop roles intended to protect us from harm, help us navigate our lives, and manage experiences that may once have felt overwhelming. The idea that we contain different psychological parts is not entirely new. Psychology has been exploring t

Choosing a clinical path is rarely a straight line. For me, the decision to pursue marriage and family therapy grew out of personal loss, hard-earned insight, and a deepening belief that our relationships shape the way we understand ourselves, heal, and move through the world. When I graduated from high school, I did not yet know what academic path I wanted to pursue. I married young, and that marriage ultimately ended in divorce. Afterward, I decided that returning to school