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Being a teenager is hard enough. Add a layer of mixed cultural identity, and the challenges can quickly compound. I've been there. Your parents just don't seem to understand you. You feel like they choose to see the worst in you and fail to recognize that your experience is uniquely different from theirs. Maybe you're often grounded, or reprimanded for things that you feel are normal. The values of your home don't mirror the values you experience at school. It feels like you are living a double life, expected to chameleon your personality depending on where you are, and nobody at school or home seems to fully understand. You know you don't deserve to be punished for just being you. You feel trapped, alone, and angry.

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Loss doesn't have to look significant to feel significant. Whether going through a breakup, moving to a new city, navigating friendships, or confronting a career transition, it is natural to feel overwhelmed by emotions when moving through change. It's that ache in your chest. The wave of sadness seemingly comes out of nowhere and brings you to tears. It makes sense. Things that once defined your identity are no longer there, leaving a void you're unsure how to fill.

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Attachment injuries refer to emotional wounds that occur when a trusted individual fails to provide you with support, care, or protection during a time of need. Attachment injuries often arise from experiences of betrayal, abandonment, rejection, or neglect by your parents, caregivers, or romantic partners. In my experience, we all have an attachment wound, albeit of varying degrees, because no childhood is perfect. But when these wounds disrupt your sense of safety, trust, and connection that are foundational to healthy relationships, they can often develop an insecure attachment.

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When we feel powerless, our internal system develops protective mechanisms as a survival strategy. These protective parts emerge with the noble intention of preventing future harm, manifesting in a wide spectrum of behaviors. What might appear on the surface as problematic—whether it's perfectionism, people-pleasing, excessive caretaking, or more extreme responses like addiction and self-harm—are actually sophisticated survival strategies developed by our internal parts to shield us from potential pain.

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The term “life transition” may bring to mind the sudden, dramatic shift into the great unknown we endure as young adults. But life transitions take many forms and happen at every stage of life. Common examples include pursuing higher education, moving, changing careers, getting married, getting divorced, becoming a parent, and retiring. Such turning points tend to evoke an array of emotions that can be overwhelming. 

Often, people turn to therapy for help managing their overwhelm. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic modality that is particularly well-suited to navigating life transitions in two ways: through Parts Work and Self Leadership. 

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When neurodivergent individuals enter relationships, their sensitive nervous systems often amplify experiences that others might consider minor. Society frequently labels these individuals as "reactive" or "too sensitive," expecting them to conform to neurotypical standards by "letting things go." However, this expectation misses a crucial truth: many neurodivergent individuals genuinely experience emotions and sensations more intensely.

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Many partners benefit from working with a Gottman-trained therapist. The Gottman Method is a research-based modality that emphasizes three relational domains: conflict, friendship, and shared meaning. Approaching your relationship in this holistic way means that you won't just rehash your problems every week – you'll learn how to navigate conflict, proactively strengthen your partnership, and focus on creating a meaningful life together.

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In Internal Family Systems (IFS), these protective coping mechanisms are called protectors—aspects or parts of our personalities that help us stabilize and/or soothe so that we hopefully navigate life with more ease and an increased sense of safety.

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In our fast-paced world, feeling overwhelmed is, unfortunately, the norm and is even seen as a point of pride in certain circles; it's as if our tendency to work harder than our capacity is proof of our worth. But this so often leads to burnout for many and can even progress to more significant experiences of anxiety and depression when not addressed. One powerful tool that has gained significant attention in recent years is mindfulness

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Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) experience the world in a uniquely intense way due to processing information more deeply, becoming easily stressed by overstimulation, having increased emotional reactivity, and heightened perception of subtleties in their surroundings. While this heightened sensitivity can be a gift, it also means that HSPs may look for some relief through substance use - and sometimes this can lead to addiction.

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Living with ADHD presents unique challenges that can impact various aspects of life. From struggling with time management to navigating social interactions, ADHDers often face a complex web of internal and external pressures. Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy offers a compassionate and effective approach to addressing these challenges, helping individuals with ADHD develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their experiences.

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Parenthood is a beautiful and transformative journey that can bring immense joy and fulfillment to couples. However, this transition can also come with its fair share of challenges and adjustments.

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People often come to couples therapy for premarital counseling, working through conflict, family planning, strengthening intimacy, and exploring changes in their relationship structure such as ethical non-monogamy. In the midst of this work, the inevitable may come—death, loss, and the grief that follows. This could be the death of a family or friend, pregnancy loss, the loss following a big move or an unexpected layoff, and the grief that emerges at witnessing and/or being impacted by violence and oppression that surrounds us.

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Have you wished your partner did things differently, whether that meant being more open with you or spending more time with you or something else entirely, and you kept getting hit with disappointment after disappointment because your wishes simply weren't coming true?

If so, your relationship might be impacted by resentment.

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Often, couples come into Couples Therapy in Highland Park, CA, seeking help around a pattern of relating or disconnection that has been ongoing and challenging to change. One of the more common dynamics is codependency. This is where one or both partners overly depend on another person for validation, approval, a sense of identity, and self-worth. This pattern can create a cycle of unhealthy behaviors and interactions. It causes one partner to enable the other's behavior, or both partners may feel trapped in a cycle of caretaking and seeking validation from each other.

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Relationships are a beautiful, complicated dance between two individuals. What initially brings a couple together - those very qualities that felt so magnetic - can become the sources of misattunement over time. As life evolves, external stressors, such as financial pressures or career changes, can add strain. Additionally, major life events like the transition to parenthood can shift priorities and dynamics within the relationship. Changes in sexual desires, as well as personal growth and evolving paths in life, can also contribute to feeling out of sync with your partner. Despite these challenges, couples who are willing to work on their relationship can emerge stronger and more connected. If you're experiencing these challenges, Couples Therapy in Highland Park, CA at Therapy on Fig can provide a supportive space. One that can help you explore these issues and reconnect with your partner.

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We all seek connection and yearn to be supported and loved by our partners. But even with the best intentions, many times, we struggle to communicate in a way that leaves both partners feeling seen and understood. Effective communication can be worked on both in and out of Couples Therapy in Highland Park, CA. This can be done to assist couples in increasing their relationship satisfaction. Here, you can learn more about the importance of relationship communication. You can also learn more ways to improve communication with your partner.

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What happens when you experience emotional overwhelm? That moment where your natural and helpful attunement to others’ emotions feels like it’s taking on a bit too much. This can lead to compassion fatigue and a need to shut down. It might bring up a part of you that feels panicked, urgently trying to find ways to “keep it all together.” Sometimes, emotional overwhelm can bring up a self-critical mindset, where you begin to berate yourself for not feeling in control. This is where Therapy for Empaths in Los Angeles, CA comes in.

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As an empath or highly sensitive person, your sensitivities to others and your ability to attune to yourself and the outside world can be overwhelming. This may lead you to adjust your communication style. This is done to shield others from what you sense as a vulnerability. By absorbing these fragile states in others, it makes sense for your interpersonal relationships to pose specific challenges. You may find difficulty around boundary setting or staying within a boundary.

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