Check out Episode 39 of the Psychotherapy Central Podcast: Understanding and Healing Protest Behaviors Through an IFS Lens. Listen here: Enjoy, and let me know what you think in the comments. Love, Jen
Tag: anxious
Overly Sensitive And Anxiously Attached
If you grew up in an emotionally unstable environment, you likely became hyper-aware of small shifts—watching for any sign that might trigger a reaction. You learned to do things perfectly to avoid being yelled at or punished, picking up on …
It Feels SAFER to Anxious Partners When They…
If you want to navigate this journey together as a couple, you’ll love my book, ‘Heal Your Anxious Attachment’. The latter portion focuses on addressing insecure attachment within a couple dynamic. As a certified clinical psychotherapist and couple therapist in …
When the Freeze Response is Chronic, It Is Related to Depression.
Your automatic response in any stressful situation will be the one that your autonomic nervous system found most effective in the past. The freeze response takes over when we cannot fight or run away from the situation and it is …
Attachment Styles and Relational Distance
Attachment styles exist on a spectrum. You can be more or less anxious or more or less avoidant in your attachment style. About 80% of distressed couples who go to couple therapy are in the anxious/avoidant dynamic. Have you ever …
The Anxious-Avoidant Dynamic – Can it work?
This is one of the main dynamics that brings couples into therapy. It is the Anxious-Avoidant Cycle. So, what exactly is the Anxious-Avoidant Cycle, how does it work, and how do we perpetuate it? We also tackle the big question: …
The Avoidant Partner
When in conflict, it’s common for people with an avoidant adaptation to want to get away, to shut down and feel confused. This is often super frustrating for the other person who doesn’t understand what’s happening. Inside, the avoidant partner …
The Dance of the Anxious and Avoidant in Conflict
This is the pursuer/withdrawer dynamic identified by Dr Sue Johnson in her brilliant book “Hold Me Tight”. It is the dance of the anxious (pursuer) and the avoidant (withdrawer). I know this dance well because it is one my husband …