Break the Cycle— Build Healthy, Fulfilling Relationships

Therapy for Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Who Struggle in Relationships

ONLINE RELATIONSHIP THERAPY IN TAMPA AND THROUGHOUT FL & TX

When Relationships Feel Confusing, One-Sided, or Just… Too Much

If you grew up with an emotionally immature parent—someone who was self-centered, unpredictable, overly critical, or emotionally absent—your early experiences likely taught you that relationships are not safe places to be fully yourself. And now, those lessons may be following you into your adult relationships.

You want closeness, but it often feels unsafe.
You want honesty, but you hesitate to speak up.
You want love, but you’re tired of feeling like you have to earn it.

If you’re here, it's because your relationships feel harder than they should.

You may:

  • Lose yourself in relationships, always focused on meeting others’ needs

  • Struggle to express your feelings or set boundaries

  • Avoid conflict at all costs—or fear abandonment when it arises

  • Feel anxious or insecure, even with people who care about you

  • Constantly question whether you're too much or not enough

  • Keep choosing partners or friends who replicate old family dynamics

You have a deep desire for connection but feel exhausted by how much it seems to take from you.

Therapy won’t erase the past, but it can help you stop reliving it in every relationship.

  • Speak up for yourself with less fear and more clarity

  • Feel more at ease being authentic, even when it feels vulnerable

  • Stop attracting or tolerating emotionally unavailable people

  • Experience connection without anxiety, guilt, or over-functioning

  • Know your needs matter—and feel confident asking for them

  • Feel more whole, grounded, and safe in your own skin

You’ll gain confidence to:

This is what it means to build secure, mutual relationships—from the inside out.

Together, we’ll look at how your early experiences shaped your relationship patterns—and gently start untangling them.

Therapy can help you:

  • Identify and shift core beliefs that keep you stuck in self-doubt

  • Explore the role you’ve learned to play in relationships (caretaker, fixer, avoider, peacekeeper, etc.)

  • Learn to set healthy boundaries and communicate needs clearly

  • Heal emotional wounds that made you feel unsafe or unseen

  • Practice showing up as your full self—without fear of rejection or shame

This isn’t about blaming your parents. It’s about giving yourself the emotional foundation you never had.

  • Understand why relationships feel so hard (and that it’s not your fault)

  • Heal from emotional neglect, enmeshment, or parental role-reversal

  • Build confidence in expressing your needs and setting limits

  • Break the cycle of people-pleasing, self-abandonment, or avoidance

  • Create healthier, more balanced relationships—romantic, platonic, and professional

  • Reconnect with your identity, voice, and emotional clarity

If you’re ready to:

Then reach out to get started

FAQS

What others have wondered about therapy for relationships

 

  • When a parent couldn’t meet your emotional needs, you may have learned that love is conditional, conflict is dangerous, or your feelings don’t matter. As an adult, this can show up as people-pleasing, difficulty setting boundaries, fear of abandonment, or feeling anxious in close relationships. You might find yourself over-functioning, avoiding vulnerability, or constantly questioning your worth. Therapy can help you understand these patterns and begin building relationships that feel mutual, safe, and emotionally fulfilling.

  • These patterns are often rooted in survival strategies you developed as a child—like people-pleasing, avoiding conflict, or staying silent to keep the peace. Even when they’re no longer serving you, they can feel familiar or “safe.” Therapy helps you become more aware of these patterns, understand where they come from, and gently create new ways of relating that are based on self-worth, not fear.

  • Yes, absolutely. While you can’t change your past, you can change the way it affects you now. Therapy offers a space to heal old emotional wounds, build self-trust, and practice new relational skills. You’ll learn how to set boundaries, express your needs, and show up more fully in relationships—without losing yourself or constantly feeling anxious.

  • You can start by either

    1. Self scheduling your free consultation HERE

    2. Emailing me at erica@oceanwavescounseling.com

    3. Calling me at 813-406-0525

More questions? Check out my FAQs page.

You deserve true connection.