Every relationship begins with expectations. Some expectations are openly spoken, while others develop from our families, past relationships, culture, or personal experiences.
the category
relationship therapy
If you've been listening to Noah Kahan's new album The Great Divide and feeling something crack open in your chest, you're not alone. As a therapist, I've been struck by how many people are coming in talking about this record.
Many of us grow up carrying emotional roles that were never truly ours. We learn, often without realizing it, to hold feelings, fears, expectations, or identities that belonged to a parent or caregiver. By adulthood, these patterns can feel so familiar that they seem like part of our personality.
The effects of growing up with an emotionally immature parent don’t stay in childhood. They often show up later in relationships, self-esteem, conflict, and the way you relate to your own emotions. For many adults, these patterns feel like personality traits rather than adaptations developed in response to early family dynamics.
First responders run toward the things most people spend their lives trying to avoid. That kind of work changes a person, and not always in ways that are easy to carry home.
Co-parenting is one of the hardest things two people can do, especially when the relationship that brought them together didn't end well. You're trying to raise kids with someone you may have a lot of unresolved feelings about, navigating logistics, decisions, and emotional landmines, without any blueprint for how to do it.
Divorce is rarely a clean break. Even in the most amicable separations, there are layers of grief, identity loss, and uncertainty to work through.
In many marriages, women are more likely to initiate divorce. While this can sometimes seem surprising, therapists often see consistent patterns that help explain why this happens.
Talking about sex can feel surprisingly difficult, even in long-term, loving relationships. Differences in desire, frequency, preferences, or timing are common, but many couples avoid discussing them out of fear of rejection, conflict, or hurting their partner’s feelings.
Starting a new relationship can be exciting and hopeful, but also a little overwhelming. When emotions are strong and everything feels new, boundaries often get overlooked in the name of connection.