Attachment and Inner Child Therapy in Los Altos, California
Healing the Roots of How You Relate to Yourself and Others
Attachment and Inner Child struggles show up in many ways. Do these sound Familiar?
You might find yourself craving closeness but pulling away when someone gets too near.
You worry that if people really knew you, they would leave.
Even in good relationships, you sometimes feel a constant undercurrent of loneliness.
You replay the same painful dynamics in friendships or romances and wonder why.
There’s a younger part of you that feels unworthy, unseen, or not good enough.
You long for care and support but feel guilty or ashamed when you need it.
Conflict makes you feel small — like you’re right back in your childhood home.
It feels hard to trust that love will last or that it’s safe to really rely on someone.
You sense there’s a gap between the confident adult you and the tender, insecure child within.
No matter how much you achieve, you still feel haunted by an old fear of being rejected or abandoned.
We all carry our past into the present
Therapy provides a safe space to explore your relational patterns and work on yourself, helping you understand how past experiences influence your relationships today. It’s an opportunity to bring attention to the small moments in connecting with others that feel off, as well as to release big emotions that may feel too overwhelming to share elsewhere.
The therapy relationship often mirrors other important relationships in your life. Patterns from your past—especially from early attachment experiences—can replay in subtle ways in the therapy room. Together, we can notice these dynamics as they arise, process them in the moment, and work toward healthier ways of relating.
Through attachment-focused and inner-child work, therapy helps you identify recurring relational patterns, understand your emotional responses, and develop new ways of connecting with yourself and others. This process supports emotional healing, strengthens your relationships, and guides you toward becoming the person you want to be in your connections.
Attachment and Inner Child
Humans are inherently relational, and much of our personal growth—or stagnation—depends on our ability to navigate and deepen relationships. Learning to be in relationship requires facing vulnerability, being honest with yourself and others, and developing the ability to recognize and express your feelings.
Whether you’re struggling in relationships with a spouse, partner, parent, or other loved ones, the foundational skills of healthy communication remain the same. Many of us have learned unhelpful or limiting communication patterns, but it is never too late to improve. Attachment-focused and relational therapy provides a safe space to practice these skills, explore patterns rooted in early experiences, and strengthen your capacity for authentic connection.
Attachment and Inner Child Work FAQs.
-
The inner child is a way of describing the younger parts of yourself that still live inside — the feelings, needs, and longings you had growing up that may not have been fully met. In therapy, we explore those tender places not to dwell on the past, but to understand how they shape the way you feel and relate today.
-
Attachment styles are the patterns you learned in early relationships — how safe or unsafe it felt to reach out for love, comfort, and care. These patterns often resurface in adult relationships, shaping how you handle closeness, conflict, and vulnerability. By bringing awareness to them in therapy, you can begin to shift from repeating old cycles toward building healthier, more secure connections.
-
Not at all. This work isn’t about blame — it’s about understanding. Even loving parents can miss things, and families often pass down patterns they never had the chance to examine themselves. By exploring your early experiences, you gain clarity and compassion for both yourself and the people who raised you. That understanding opens the door to change.
-
That’s very common. Inner child and attachment work doesn’t require perfect memories. Often the feelings you carry in the present — self-doubt, shame, fear of abandonment, or difficulty trusting — tell the story of what may have been missing. Together, we’ll follow the threads of those feelings to uncover and heal the younger parts of you.
-
This work is gentle and collaborative. We’ll pay attention to how your younger parts show up in your thoughts, feelings, and relationships today. You’ll have space to express emotions that may have once felt unsafe or “too much.” Over time, you may find yourself feeling more grounded, more secure in relationships, and more compassionate toward yourself.
-
You don’t have to know your “attachment style” or be certain you need inner child work before starting. Many people come in simply feeling stuck in patterns they can’t explain — maybe you keep choosing unavailable partners, struggle with self-worth, or feel anxious about being abandoned. If you notice that your reactions in relationships feel bigger than the situation at hand, or that certain feelings trace back to something deeper, this kind of therapy may help. Together, we’ll explore at a pace that feels safe for you, with curiosity rather than judgment.
Contact Me
Ready to take the next step? Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or to request a consultation.
