Therapy for Relationships & People-Pleasing in Hickory, NC & Online Across North Carolina

For many women, this isn't a problem of willpower or communication skills.

You may fully understand that it's okay to say no and still find yourself agreeing to things you don't want to do. That's because the part of you that says yes is often trying to protect something important—your relationships, a sense of being needed, avoiding conflict, or the fear of disappointing someone you care about.

These patterns usually develop for good reasons. Perhaps you learned early in life that being helpful, responsible, accommodating, or easy-going helped you feel connected, valued, or secure. Over time, those responses can become automatic, even when they're no longer serving you.

In therapy, we work to understand what's driving the pattern rather than simply trying to override it. As you develop a deeper understanding of the parts of you involved, it becomes easier to make choices that reflect what you truly want—not just what keeps everyone else comfortable.

I primarily work with individuals and don’t offer traditional couples therapy or family counseling. If a relationship needs ongoing couples work, I’ll refer you to a marriage and family therapist who I trust. That said, I do work with partners or spouses when it supports your individual work—especially around boundaries, chronic illness, sexual concerns, or communication breakdowns. My focus is helping you shift the patterns on your side of the dynamic, which often creates meaningful change in the relationship as a whole.

Yes, and we approach it thoughtfully. I won’t jump straight to telling you to cut someone off or force hard conversations before you’re ready. Instead, we’ll spend time making sense of the family system you grew up in and the role you learned to play. We look at what’s happening now (aging, illness, shifting responsibilities) alongside your history, so you can respond to present issues intentionally. Over time, you’ll develop language, internal permission, and strong boundaries—even in complicated situations where there’s no perfect win-win.

Do you work with adult children of emotionally immature parents?
Yes. Many women I work with grew up as the "together one" in their family—managing emotions, keeping the peace, or stepping into a parentified role. We'll explore how those early patterns still show up in your relationships today, and how to build a different way of relating to yourself and others.

Most people-pleasers are following an old blueprint that once kept them safe or made them feel valued. We use “parts work” to understand where that role began and why it still feels necessary. As your younger selves start to feel seen and supported, you’re able to make decisions as your adult self instead of from a place of fear, guilt, or obligation.

Knowing you need a boundary and being able to hold one are two very different things. In our work, we don’t just script what to say, we slow down and understand why your system reacts so strongly when you try to say no. When we address the root (often old family roles or survival strategies), boundaries stop feeling like a threat and start feeling like a choice you can stand behind.

Through our work together, you’ll begin to recognize when the patterns we map out are showing up in your life in real time. Over time, you’ll develop the ability to pause instead of automatically falling into them again. We’ll work on clear ways to express your needs, and start small to build your confidence. We’ll often celebrate your progress together, so you can notice how you’re growing along the way.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I have advanced training in trauma, attachment, Internal Family Systems (also known as IFS or “parts work”), and emotionally focused therapy—all of which directly inform how I work with family roles, boundaries, and relationship patterns. I’ve also completed specialized training in complex trauma, shame, and narcissistic abuse, which often sit underneath long-standing people-pleasing dynamics.

Beyond credentials, I understand this pattern personally. I’m a recovering over-functioner and people-pleaser myself, which means I don’t just teach boundaries from a textbook—I understand how threatening they can feel when your nervous system believes keeping the peace is what keeps you safe. That combination of clinical depth and lived experience allows me to help you break out of these patterns at a pace that doesn’t feel too overwhelming.