Anxiety Therapy for Parents in Metro Detroit
Healing at the root. For you. For your Family
Most people who come to me with anxiety already know something is driving it. They might not call it trauma. They might trace it to something, or they might just know it's been there a long time. But they sense it's there.
I think of it like a pebble in a shoe. You can keep walking. Most people do, especially when there's a lot to juggle and stopping feels like it isn't an option. You adjust without realizing you're adjusting, avoid without realizing you're avoiding. But it's still there, and it's still shaping every step. Anxiety is often like that. Something underneath has been quietly running the show long before you stopped to look at it.
When we can actually take the shoe off and deal with what's in it, you can return to your natural gait.
For a lot of people, becoming a parent is the moment they finally can't walk around it anymore.
When Managing It Isn’t Enough
You've probably already tried to get on top of it. The breathing techniques, the books, maybe even therapy. And it helped, for a while. But the anxiety kept coming back.
That's what happens when you're working around the pebble instead of removing it. The relief is real, but it's temporary. Until something addresses what's underneath, the nervous system stays on guard.
That's where this work is different.
We often don't know the extent to which the pebble has been affecting us until we start noticing how we're moving differently. Parents especially notice this. They find themselves responding instead of reacting. Staying regulated in moments that used to derail them. Showing up for their kids in ways that feel more like who they actually want to be.
Sometimes the shifts are profound. More often they're subtle. But they're real.
What’s Usually Underneath
Anxiety rarely exists on its own. Underneath it there's almost always something the nervous system never fully resolved. This doesn't require a dramatic event. It can come from needs that weren't met, experiences that overwhelmed your capacity to cope at the time, or ways of moving through the world that made sense once and now don't serve you anymore.
Parenting has a particular way of bringing this to the surface. The moments where you react and don't recognize yourself. The patterns you swore you wouldn't repeat. The realization that what you're carrying is starting to affect the people you love most.
That's where EMDR and IFS come in. Together they help us find the pebble, understand how it got there, and actually deal with it rather than just finding better ways to walk around it. And while we're doing that deeper work, we also make sure you have what you need to get through your days right now. Coping skills aren't the destination, but they matter, especially early on.
What Shifts When the Work Takes Hold
We often don't know the extent to which the pebble has been affecting us until we start noticing how we're moving differently. Parents especially notice this. They find themselves responding instead of reacting. Staying regulated in moments that used to derail them. Showing up for their kids in ways that feel more like who they actually want to be.
Sometimes the shifts are profound. More often they're subtle. But they're real.
Who I Work Best With
The people I work best with aren’t just struggling with anxiety. They’re ready to look at what’s underneath it. Readiness matters more than anything else. It’s about having the capacity to do this kind of work right now and genuinely wanting to, not just feeling like you should. Most of my clients have had therapy before. They have insight. Something just hasn’t moved yet. If that’s where you are, we’re probably a good fit.
And if you’re not quite there yet, if you’re in the thick of it and just need some relief right now, that’s okay too. We start where you are.
Imagine a life where…
you aren’t trying so hard to regulate yourself just to get through the day
you can be present with your kids instead of managing yourself around them
the anxiety that’s been in the background can finally settle
Available in person in Southfield and virtually across Michigan.
If you've made it this far and something here resonates, that probably means something. I'd love to connect and see if we're a good fit. Schedule your free 15-minute consultation below.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
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A few signs that something underneath might be driving it: you've tried managing your anxiety and gotten some relief, but it keeps coming back. You have insight into why you struggle but something still hasn't moved. Your anxiety shows up in ways that feel disproportionate to what's happening in the present moment. You might not call what you've been through trauma, but you sense that certain experiences have shaped how you move through the world. If any of that resonates, it's worth exploring.
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Usually because parenting activates the nervous system in ways that surface what’s already there. Becoming a parent, navigating a significant loss, hitting a wall you’ve hit before: these experiences have a way of aggravating what’s already there. It’s not a sign that something is newly wrong. It’s often a sign that something old is ready to be addressed.
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Anxiety is often what trauma looks like from the outside. The nervous system learned at some point that it needed to stay on guard, and it’s been doing that ever since. When we address what taught it that, the anxiety tends to settle.
get at the root. for you. for your family.
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get at the root. for you. for your family. —