What brings families to therapy
Relationships between adult children and parents can carry years of emotional history. Many families care deeply about one another while still feeling stuck — in patterns of emotional disconnection, unresolved hurt, criticism and defensiveness, or conflict that escalates before anyone knows how it started. Cultural and generational differences often add another layer: differing expectations around independence, emotional expression, closeness, or what it means to be a good child or a good parent.
Often, family members want connection but no longer know how to reach each other safely.
An emotionally focused approach to family work
My approach to family therapy is grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), attachment theory, and relational therapy. Rather than focusing on communication skills or problem-solving alone, EFT helps families better understand the emotional patterns underneath conflict, distance, or repeated misunderstanding.
In many families, protective roles develop over time: one person pursues while another shuts down; vulnerability gets expressed through anger or withdrawal; family members feel unseen or emotionally alone despite caring deeply about one another. Together, we work to slow these cycles down — creating more emotional understanding, responsiveness, and safety within the relationship.
This work is not about assigning blame or deciding who is right. It is about helping family members better understand each other's emotional experiences so new patterns of connection can become possible.
Family therapy may help with
Families come to this work for many reasons — rebuilding connection after years of emotional distance, navigating cultural or intergenerational differences, improving communication around conflict or boundaries, healing longstanding attachment injuries, supporting one another through caregiving stress or changing roles, and finding more emotionally honest ways of being together.
Family therapy in California for adult children and parents
I provide in-person therapy in my Eagle Rock office in Northeast Los Angeles near Highland Park, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Atwater Village, Silverlake, and Glendale, and online therapy throughout California for adult children and parents seeking greater emotional understanding, healthier communication, and more connected relationships.